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ROBERT  BRUCE'S  SERMONS 
ON  THE  SACRAMENT  £ 


DONE  INTO  ENGLISH  -WITH  A 
BIOGRAPHICAL  INTRODUCTION- 
BY  JOKN  LA1DLAW,  D.D.&< 


The  Leonard  Library 

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SERMONS   ON   THE   SACRAMENT 


ROBERT   BRUCE  OF  KINNAIRD. 
From  a  Brooch  belonging  to  Lady  Thurlow. 


ROBERT  BRUCE'S 
SERMONS  ON  THE  SACRAMENT 

DONE  INTO  ENGLISH 
WITH  A  BIOGRAPHICAL  INTRODUCTION 


BY 


THE  REV.   JOHN   LAIDLAW,   M.A.,  D.D. 

I-KOFKSSOR    OF    THBOI.OOY,    NEW    COLLKOK,    EDINBflGH 
AUTUOB    OK    "  BIBLK    DOCTK1NK    OF    MAM,"    ITC. 


£Mnbur0b  anfc  lotion 
OLIPHANT,  ANDERSON  &  FERRIER 

MDOCCCI 


PRINTED    BY 
RULL    AND    SPEARS 
EDINBURGH 


PREFACE 

THE  "  Sermons  on  the  Sacrament,"  which  have 
so  long  been  classic  in  our  Theology,  were  first 
published  in  1591)  in  the  Scottish  tongue  of  their 
original  delivery.  Together  with  eleven  other 
sermons  of  the  Author,  on  various  passages  of 
Scripture,  published  in  1591,  they  were  re 
printed  in  our  ordinary  language  (London  1017) 
under  the-  rather  meaningless  title  (not  given  by 
their  author)  "  The  Way  to  True  Peace  and  Rest." 
These  sixteen  sermons  were  again  reprinted  in 
their  original  form,  together  with  one  other,  in 
the  Wodrow  Society's  Edition  (1843)  edited 
by  Dr  William  Cunningham.  The  elder  I)r 
Thomas  M'Crie  says,  "  they  are  curious  as  speci 
mens  of  composition  in  the  Scottish  language 
within  a  few  years  of  the  time  when  it  was 
generally  laid  aside  by  our  writers,"  and  the 
younger  Thomas  M'Crie  adds  that  "  even  in  this 
form,  now  become  so  obsolete  as  almost  to  act  as 
a  disguise,  they  have  commanded  much  admira 
tion."  The  time  seems  to  have  arrived  when  the 
"  disguise "  should  be  entirely  removed.  The 


VI 


PREFACE 


rendering  of  1617,  as  English,  contemporary  with 
the  original,  has  been  used  as  a  ba,sis  for  the 
present  edition,  but  it  has  been  freely  altered, 
chiefly  in  the  direction  of  following  with  much 
more  closeness  the  Author's  own  forcible  and 
vigorous  style.  It  has  to  be  remembered  that 
these  sermons  were  originally  printed  "  as  they 
were  received  from  the  Author's  mouth."  But 
he  superintended  their  publication.  These, 
together  with  the  sermons  added  in  1591, 
appeared  in  the  early  years  of  his  ministry,  and 
during  his  long  life  (so  far  as  we  know)  he 
published  nothing  more. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Sacraments  expounded  in 
these  discourses  is  that  of  the  Reformed  Church. 
That  doctrine  has  never  been  better  stated.  The 
Author's  formal  standard  was  the  Scottish  Con 
fession  of  1560.  But  the  possible  exaggerations 
in  Calvin's  Sacramental  ideas,  just  hinted  at  in 
that  Confession,  are  avoided  by  Bruce.  He  had 
evidently  taken  his  stand  on  the  more  generally 
accepted  Reformed  view  which  had  already  ap 
peared  in  the  Second  Helvetic  Confession  (1566), 
in  the  XXXIX  articles  (1563),  and  which  was 
yet  to  be  more  clearly  stated,  immediately  after 
his  time,  in  the  Westminster  Standards.  He 
devotes  more  attention,  than  is  usual  now,  to  a 
refutation  of  the  Romish  ideas.  But  that  was 


PREFACE  vii 

necessary  at  the  time.  Otherwise  the  view  he 
takes  of  the  Sacrament  is  monumental  and  com 
plete  ;  and  is  in  clear  and  firm  distinction  from 
the  looser  and  less  guarded  views  which  have 
crept  into  our  Presbyterian  Churches,  presumably 
as  a  supposed  protest  against  High  Church  ism. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  English  Bible 
from  which  the  texts  and  some  other  citations 
in  these  sermons  are  taken  is  "  The  Geneva 
Bible "  which  for  about  eighty  years  was  used 
in  Scotland  before  the  adoption  of  the  Authorised 
Version  of  1G11  ;  but  several  citations  in  the 
course  of  the  Sermons  are  made  freely,  as  if  from 
memory.  The  portrait  in  the  frontispiece  is  from 
a  collection  of  Moderators'  portraits  in  the  Hall 
of  Tolbooth  Church,  Edinburgh.  The  other  is 
from  an  engraving  in  St  Giles'  Vestry,  kindly 
granted  by  Dr  Cameron  Lees.  The  view  of  the 
old  House  of  Kiunaird  is  from  a  photograph  sent 
by  the  kindness  of  the  present  proprietor. 

J.  LAIDLAW. 
NEW  COLLEGE,  EDINBURGH, 
November  1900. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

.     vi-viii 
ix-lxxvi 
Ixxix-lxxxi 


PREFACE  ..... 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH    . 

DEDICATION          .... 

THE  FIRST  SERMON 

UPON  THE  SACRAMENTS  IN  GENERAL    ...  1 

THE  SECOND  SERMON 

UPON  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR       .  .          42 

THE  THIRD  SERMON 
UPON  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR       .  .          81 

THE  FOURTH  SERMON 

UPON  THE  PREPARATION  TO  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER         .        138 

THE  FIFTH  AND  LAST  SERMON 

UPON  THE  PREPARATION  TO  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  .       180 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

SOME  outline  of  a  life  so  distinguished  as  that  of 
our  author  cannot  be  unacceptable.  He  was  one 
of  that  group  of  eminent  Scotsmen  who,  in 
immediate  succession  to  Knox,  defended  the 
liberties  and  religion  of  the  nation,  strenuously 
resisted  the  encroachments  of  James  and  of  the 
subsequent  Stuart  kings,  and  whose  principles 
were  ultimately  triumphant  in  the  Revolution  of 
1688.  No  one  among  them  held  so  notable  a 
phice  as  Bruce  in  the  affairs  of  the  Court,  the 
Nation,  and  the  Church  during  the  first  twelve 
years  of  his  public  life.  Throughout  the  remain 
ing  thirty  years,  he  became  the  victim  of  ceaseless 
petty  persecution  which  drove  him  from  his 
official  place — as  minister  of  Edinburgh — but 
his  personal  worth  and  influence  in  Scotland 
continued  and  increased  to  the  last  day  of  his 
life. 

Robert  Bruce  was  the  second  son  of  Sir 
Alexander  Bruce  of  Airth,  Stirlingshire.  "The 
family  claimed  the  nearest  descent  of  any  of  that 
name  to  the  blood-royal."  l  He  was  born  about 

1  Hill  Burton,  "History  of  Scotland,"  vol.  v.,  \\  340.  Robert 
Bruce  of  Kinnaird  was  descended,  in  the  seventh  generation,  from 
Edward  do  Bruys,  the  second  son  of  Robert  de  Bruys  of  Clack 
mannan.  The  Bruces  of  Clackmannan  are  usually  held — though 

b  ix 


x  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH 

1554,  brought  up  in  letters,  passed  his  course  of 
philosophy  in  the  University  of  St  Andrews,  and 
thereafter,  furnished  by  his  father,  was  sent  to 
study  civil  law  in  France,  as  was  at  that  time  the 
custom  ;  where,  as  also  in  the  Low  Countries — 
at  Louvain — he  applied  himself  closely  to  these 
studies  and  to  humanity,  in  which  he  was  inferior 
to  few  in  his  day.  When  he  returned  from  his 
travels  and  foreign  studies  he  was  directed  to 
attend  the  Court  and  Lords  of  Session,  and  there 
had  the  management  of  his  father's  affairs  together 
with  the  business  of  a  good  many  other  friends 
and  acquaintances.  His  reputation  for  knowledge 
in  law  and  practice,  was  so  considerable  that  a 
design  was  formed  by  his  father  to  make  him  one 
of  the  senators  of  the  College  of  Justice.  Accord 
ing  to  the  practice  of  the  times,  such  a  position  had 
been  secured  for  him  by  patent,  and  his  father  had 
provided  him  in  the  lands  and  barony  of  Kinnaird, 
near  Larbert,  which  house  he  continued  to  possess 
all  his  days.1  The  Court  of  Session  was,  then, 
like  other  parts  of  government  in  Scotland,  in 
complete  and  partially  disordered.  The  Judges  were 
too  often  court-partizans,  and  were  individually 

this  is  not  quite  certain — to  have  been  descended  from  John  de 
Brays,  fourth  son  of  the  competitor  with  Baliol  for  the  crown, 
and  therefore  uncle  of  King  Robert  Bruce.  Sir  Alexander  Bruce 
of  Airth  was  granted,  by  James  VI.,  a  crown-charter  to  the  lands 
which  he  inherited  from  an  ancestor  several  generations  back. 

1  The  old  house  of  Kinnaird,  of  which  a  view  is  given  on 
page  xlix.  was  pulled  down  in  1897  and  is  now  replaced  by  a 
modern  mansion.  The  house  deserves  to  be  remembered  as  the 
residence  not  only  of  Robert  Bruce,  but  also  of  James  Bruce,  the 
Abyssinian  traveller,  his  lineal  descendant. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  xi 

under  the  pressure  of  men  in  power.  Young 
Bruce  was  disinclined  to  a  course  of  life  which  in 
volved  such  inconveniences,  and  in  no  very  long 
time  determined  to  devote  himself  to  the  Church. 
His  parents  combated  this  resolution,  and  even 
threatened  his  inheritance.  Bruce  resigned  his 
claim  to  the  estate  without  a  sigh,  threw  oft'  the 
scarlet  dress  of  a  courtier,  and  returned  to  St 
Andrews,  where  he  now  commenced  the  study  of 
theology.  For  a  considerable  period  indeed  pre 
vious  to  this,  a  struggle  had  been  going  on  within 
his  own  breast  as  to  his  choice  of  a  profession.  He 
found  strong  inclination  to  apply  himself  wholly 
to  the  study  of  divinity  and  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  a  great  attraction  to  the  society  of  those  who 
were  promoting  the  reformation  of  religion  in  the 
country.  In  the  period  just  following  the  death 
of  Knox,  we  can  understand  how  keenly  this 
desire  would  be  fostered.  His  own  account  of 
the  matter  (only  penned  by  him  so  late  as  the 
year  1C 24)  comes  in  appropriately  here  : 

"  As  touching  my  vocation  to  the  ministry,  I 
was  first  called  to  grace  before  I  obeyed  my  calling 
to  the  ministry.  He  made  me  first  a  Christian 
before  he  made  me  a  minister.  I  repugned  long 
to  this  calling.  Ten  years,  at  the  least,  I  never 
leaped  on  horseback,  nor  alighted,  but  with  a  re 
pugning  and  justly  accusing  conscience.  At  last 
it  pleased  God,  in  the  year  1581,  in  the  month  of 
August,  in  the  last  night  thereof,  being  in  the 
place  of  Airth  lying  in  a  room,  called  the  new 
loft  chamber,  in  the  very  night  while  I  lay,  to 


xii  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

smite  me  inwardly  and  judicially  in  my  conscience 
and  to  present  all  my  sins  before  me,  in  such  sort 
that  He  omitted  not  a  circumstance,  but  made 
my  conscience  to  see  time,  place,  and  persons  as 
vividly  as  in  the  hour  I  did  them.  He  made  the 
devil  to  accuse  me  so  audibly  that  I  heard  his 
voice,  as  vividly  as  ever  I  heard  anything,  not 
being  asleep  but  waking.  So  far  as  he  spake 
true,  my  conscience  bare  him  record,  and  testified 
against  me  very  clearly.  But  when  he  came  to 
be  a  false  accuser  and  laid  things  to  my  charge 
which  I  had  never  done,  then  my  conscience  failed 
him  and  would  not  testify  with  him.  But  in  those 
things  which  were  true,  my  conscience  condemned 
me  and  the  condemner  tormented  me,  and  made 
me  feel  the  wrath  of  God  pressing  me  clown,  as  it 
were,  to  the  lowest  bell.  Yea,  I  was  so  fearfully 
and  extremely  tormented  that  I  would  have  been 
content  to  have  been  cast  into  a  cauldron  of  hot 
melted  lead,  to  have  had  my  soul  relieved  of  that 
insupportable  weight.  Always  so  far  as  he  spoke 
true,  I  confessed,  restored  God  to  His  glory,  and 
craved  God's  mercy  for  the  merits  of  Christ ;  yea 
appealed  sore  to  His  mercy  purchased  to  me  by 
the  blood,  death  and  passion  of  Christ.  This 
Court  of  Justice  holden  upon  my  soul  turned  (of 
the  bottomless  mercy  of  God)  to  a  Court  of  mercy 
to  me,  for  that  same  night,  'ere  the  day  dawned, 
or  the  sun  rose,  He  restrained  these  furies  and 
these  outcries  of  my  justly  accusing  conscience 
and  enabled  me  to  rise  in  the  morning."1  He 
1  Calderwood,  iv.  636. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH  xiii 

goes  on,  in  the  same  connection,  to  describe 
the  opposition  he  hail  to  encounter  at  home,  on 
this  change,  "  It  was  long  before  I  got  leave  to 
go,  my  mother  made  me  such  impediment.  My 
father  at  last  condescended  but  my  mother  would 
not,  until  I  had  denuded  my  hands  of  some  lands 
and  casualties  I  was  infefted  in  ;  and  that  I  did 
willingly,  cast  my  clothes  from  me — my  vain  and 
glorious  apparel  —  sent  my  horse  to  the  fair, 
emptied  my  hands  of  all  impediments  and  went 
to  the  New  College." 

Of  his  entrance  there  in  divinity,  James  Melville 
tells  us  "  He  came  to  us  at  the  beginning  of  that 
same  winter  at  the  end  whereof  Mr  Andrew  was 
put  at,  whom  most  lovingly  and  faithfully  he 
assisted  till  his  departure  out  of  the  country." 
After  this  he  returned  to  the  College  and  pro 
secuted  his  studies  with  the  greatest  attention. 
He  told  James  Melville,  one  day,  walking  in  the 
fields  with  him,  that  he  had  been  drawn  perforce 
as  it  were  to  the  study  of  divinity,  and  that  by  a 
mighty  inward  working  which  suffered  him  to  get 
no  rest,  but  when  about  this  purpose  ;  adding,  that 
"  'ere  he  cast  himself  again  into  that  torment  of 
conscience  which  was  laid  on  him  for  resisting  the 
call  of  God  to  the  study  of  theology  and  to  the 
ministry,  he  had  rather  go  through  a  fire  of  brim 
stone  half-a-mile  long."  Though  most  assiduous 
in  his  studies,  he  seems  to  have  been  oppressed 
for  a  time  with  a  shyness  or  reserve  which  pre 
vented  his  making  any  public  appearance.  It  was 
customary  for  the  students  of  divinity  of  that 


xiv  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH 

College  to  read  a  chapter  of  the  Scriptures,  at  their 
meals,  and  shortly  to  open  it  up.  Before  Bruce 
would  take  his  turn  with  the  rest  of  the  scholars 
there,  he  desired  that  he  might  have  some  private  re 
hearsals,  with  two  special  companions.  These  were 
accordingly  held,  at  first  once  a  week,  and  after 
wards  thrice  a  week,  in  a  large  room  in  the  College. 
There  they  handled  a  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  and  then  of  that  to  the  Hebrews.  But 
before  they  came  any  length  in  the  latter,  these 
two  friends  prevailed  with  Bruce  to  take  the  whole 
upon  him.  From  this  they  drew  him  to  the  school, 
where  the  students  had  their  private  "  exercises  " 
before  the  masters.  Then  they  induced  him  to  take 
his  course  at  table,  and  further,  in  the  "  morning 
exercise"  upon  the  Sabbath, to  which  a  multitude 
of  the  best  people  of  the  town  resorted.  About 
two  years  or  more  elapsed  before  Andrew  Melville 
was  restored  to  his  place  and  work  in  the  College. 
From  this  time  Melville  and  Bruce  preached  along 
side  each  other,  to  the  delight  and  edification  of 
their  auditors.  It  soon  became  evident  that  a 
great  aid  to  the  pulpit  of  the  times  was  being 
prepared  in  the  ministry  of  the  younger  man. 

At  the  Assembly  of  1587  Andrew  Melville  was 
chosen  moderator.  He  had  of  set  purpose  brought 
Bruce  with  him  to  Edinburgh.  With  difficulty 
he  prevailed  upon  him  to  preach  there.  The 
charge  was  then  vacant  by  the  death  of  James 
Lawson,  Knox's  successor.  The  Commissioners 
proposed  Bruce  for  pastor,  and  the  Commissioners 
being  removed,  the  whole  Assembly  voted  with 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  xv 

almost  universal  consent  for  this  appointment. 
To  account  for  this  early  prominence,  as  well  as 
for  other  signs  of  confidence  in  him  which  im 
mediately  followed,  we  have  to  remember  that 
Bruce  had  now  reached  the  age  of  thirty-three, 
which  was  older  than  usual  for  an  entrant  to  the 
ministry.  But  his  marked  ability  and  standing 
were  no  doubt  the  real  causes.  On  the  call  being 
submitted  to  him,  he  declared  that  he  could  not 
accept  the  charge  aimpliciter,  although  he  would 
labour  in  that  rlock  till  the  next  Assembly,  and 
if  he  found  himself  meet  for  the  charge  would 
continue  ;  if  not,  he  should  be  free.  His  inclina 
tion  led  him  to  prefer  St  Andrews  to  which  he 
also  had  a  call.  His  strong  aversion  to  preach  in 
presence  of  the  King  and  the  Court  acted  in  the 
same  direction  ;  and  for  a  short  while  he  trans 
ferred  himself  to  his  university  seat.  However 
the  people  of  Edinburgh  were  insistent,  and  soon 
sent  commissioners  to  entreat  for  his  return. 
"  Loath  was  I  to  go,"  he  writes.  "  They  threatened 
me  with  authority,  so  I  advised  with  my  God  and 
thought  it  meet  to  obey  ;  but  not  to  take  on 
fully  the  burden  ;  only  to  assay  how  the  Lord 
would  bless  my  travails  for  a  while."  An  Ex 
traordinary  General  Assembly  was  convened  at 
Edinburgh,  February  6,  1588,  upon  the  alarm 
the  King  and  all  ranks  had  conceived,  as  to  the 
invasion  from  Spain  by  the  well-known  Armada  ; 
and  such  was  Brace's  reputation  for  wisdom  and 
management  that  he  was  chosen  moderator  of  this 
assembly,  where  he  contributed  not  a  little  to  the 


xvi  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

firmness  and  vigour  of  its  measures  against  Popery 
and  Papists.  Upon  the  calling  of  another  assembly 
in  little  more  than  six  months,  Bruce,  as  preced 
ing  moderator,  gave  the  exhortation  or  sermon. 
This  again  raised  the  question  of  his  appointment 
to  the  ministry  of  the  city.  The  people  of  Edin 
burgh  repeated  their  desire  that  he  would  accept 
the  ordinary  charge.  His  answer  was  that  he 
"  could  not  presently  accept  of  the  said  ordinary 
charge  though  he  offered  his  labours,  as  before, 
till  the  next  Assembly."  These  acceptances  of 
the  charge  at  Edinburgh,  for  a  restricted  period, 
renewed  as  they  were  again  and  again,  no  doubt 
led  to  the  curious  circumstance  of  which  so  much 
was  made  ten  years  later,  that  he  never  received 
formal  ordination  at  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery 
till  that  time  now  named.  He  had  the  repeated 
call  of  the  people.  He  had  the  repeated  concur 
rence  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  to 
take  the  pastoral  charge,  and  their  concurrence 
was  cordially  renewed  in  1598,  when  all  this  was 
brought  up  again  and  punctiliously  debated  by 
the  King  himself.  There  was  no  intention  on 
Bruce's  part  or  that  of  anyone  else  to  deviate 
from  the  reasonable  and  ordinary  method  of  ordi 
nation  to  the  ministry  by  imposition  of  hands. 
The  case  was  altogether  exceptional  and  peculiar. 
An  account  of  the  manner  in  which  he  was  led 
to  discharge  the  duties  proper  to  an  ordained 
minister  is  thus  given  by  John  Livingstone,  and 
as  it  became  by-and-by  a  topic  of  dispute,  may  be 
here  narrated.  He  had  been  "most  earnestly 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  xvii 

and  unanimously  called  to  be  minister  of  Edin 
burgh  ;  but  for  a  while  he  only  preached  and 
could  not  be  moved  to  take  on  the  charge,  till 
one  of  the  ministers  by  advice  of  the  rest  en 
trapped  him.  For  that  minister,  one  day  giving 
the  Communion,  had  desired  Mr  Robert  Bruce, 
who  was  to  preach  in  the  afternoon,  to  sit  by 
him  ;  and  when  he  himself  had  served  two  or 
three  tables,  he  removed  out  of  the  church,  as 
being  shortly  to  return,  but  sent  in  word  to  Mr 
Bruce  with  some  of  the  elders  that  he  would  not 
return  at  that  time ;  and  therefore  Mr  Robert 
behoved  to  serve  the  rest  of  the  tables,  or  else  the 
work  must  be  given  over ;  and  therefore  when 
the  eyes  of  the  elders  and  of  the  whole  people 
were  upon  him,  and  many  also  cried  to  him  to  serve 
the  table  now  filled,  he  went  on  and  administered 
the  Communion  to  the  rest,  with  such  singular 
assistance  and  elevated  affections  among  the 
people,  as  had  not  been  seen  in  that  place  before. 
And  for  that  cause  he  would  not  thereafter  receive 
in  the  ordinary  way  the  imposition  of  hands,  see 
ing  before  he  had  the  material  of  it,  to  wit,  the 
approbation  of  all  the  ministers,  and  had  already 
celebrated  the  Communion,  which  was  not  by  a 
new  ordination  to  be  made  void." 

Of  his  position  and  acceptance  as  minister  of 
Edinburgh  there  is  the  amplest  evidence.  James 
Melville  in  his  diary  writes,  "  The  ministry  of  Mr 
Robert  Bruce  was  very  profitable  and  mighty 
that  year  (1588),  and  divers  years  following  most 
comfortable  to  the  good  and  godly,  and  most 


xviii  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

fearful  to  the  enemies."  This  kind  of  reputation 
he  continued  to  hold  not  only  during  his  whole 
ministry  in  Edinburgh,  but  long  after  in  his  years 
of  exile.  His  labours  were  blessed  to  many. 
"  Multitudes  of  all  ranks,"  we  read,  during  his 
preaching  at  Inverness,  "  would  have  crossed 
several  ferries  every  day  to  hear  him.  They 
came  both  from  Ross  and  Sutherland."  Many 
signal  instances  of  the  effect  of  his  ministry  are 
given  down  to  the  closing  years  of  his  life.  Re 
ferring  especially  to  the  earlier  years  of  his  min 
istry  in  the  capital,  M'Crie  says,  "  The  nobility 
respected  him  for  his  birth  and  connections  ;  his 
eminent  gifts  as  a  preacher  gained  him  the  affec 
tions  of  the  common  people  ;  and  those  who  could 
not  love  him  stood  in  awe  of  his  commanding 
talents,  of  his  severe  and  incorruptible  virtue." 

It  was  at  this  point  also  that  he  had  most 
remarkable  favour  with  the  young  King.  James 
had  been  contracted  in  marriage  to  Anne  of 
Denmark,  the  second  daughter  of  the  king  of  that 
country.  His  marriage  by  proxy  had  already 
taken  place,  20th  August  1589.  But  the  young 
Queen's  little  escort  was  driven  by  storm  into  one 
of  the  ports  of  Norway.  The  King  suspecting 
some  plot  for  delay,  instantly  started  for  Norway, 
to  rescue  his  bride  in  person,  and  was  married  to 
her  in  November  of  this  year  in  her  own  country. 
At  his  setting  out  from  Scotland  the  King  nomin 
ated  Bruce  an  extraordinary  member  of  his  Privy 
Council.  The  charge  indeed  appears  to  have 
been  much  wider  and  more  general.  "  At  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH  xix 

King's  departure,  he  willed  Mr  Kobert  Bruce  to 
be  made  acquaint  with  the  affairs  of  the  country 
and  proceedings  of  the  Council,  reposing,  as  he 
professed,  upon  him  and  the  rest  of  the  ministry 
above  all  his  nobles."  Though  Bruce  abstained 
from  any  formal  exercise  of  Privy  Councillorship, 
there  was  the  fullest  response,  on  his  part,  to  the 
trust  committed  to  him.  The  King  certainly  was 
not  disappointed.  The  country  was  never  in 
greater  peace  than  during  his  absence  ;  whereas 
before,  few  months  or  weeks  passed  over  without 
slaughter  and  bloodshed,  there  was  little  or  none 
at  all  during  his  absence.  Among  other  pictur 
esque  incidents  at  this  time,  the  Earl  of  Bothwcll, 
"  an  eccentric  and  half  insane  relation  of  the 
King's," l  made  a  voluntary  appearance  in  the 
kirk  of  Edinburgh,  before  the  minister,  and 
publicly  repented  of  his  licentious  dissolute  life 
and  all  his  bye-past  sins,  and  promised  to  turn  out 
another  man  in  time  coming.  The  event  is  pre 
served  in  memory  by  a  sermon  of  Bruce's  published 
on  the  occasion.  "  But,"  adds  the  historian,  "  it 
was  a  taking  of  God's  name  in  vain,  and  a  public 
mocking  of  himself  and  of  the  Lord's  people."  •  He 
soon  after  broke  out  into  greater  extravagancies. 

Owing  to  the  severity  of  the  season,  the  royal 
party  spent  the  winter  in  Denmark,  and  did  not 
return  to  Scotland  till  the  beginning  of  the  follow 
ing  summer.  Three  or  four  letters  were  written 
to  Bruce  during  this  period  from  the  King  himself, 

1  Hill  Burton,  "  History  of  Scotland,"  vol.  v.  280. 

2  Melville,  "Diary,"  p.  277. 


xx  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

breathing  the  utmost  cordiality  and  confidence. 
One  gives  him  the  title  of  "  trusty  and  well-beloved 
councillor."  Another  thanks  him  for  the  care  he  had 
of  the  peace  of  the  country  in  the  King's  absence, 
acknowledging  that  he  "  was  worthy  of  the  quarter 
of  his  petite  kingdom" ;  another  still  says,  "  I  think 
myself  beholden  while  I  live,  and  never  to  forget  the 
same."  Two  or  more  letters  came  to  Bruce  from 
the  same  place,  in  the  hand  of  Sir  John  Maitland, 
the  Chancellor,  afterwards  Lord  Thirl estane,  thank 
ing  him  with  great  sincerity  for  his  many  services 
to  the  country  and  to  himself.  This  friendship 
was  only  broken  by  the  Chancellor's  death  some 
five  years  later. 

On  the  1st  of  May  1590,  the  King,  with  his 
newly  wedded  bride,  arrived  in  Leith  Roads, 
and  landed  about  2  o'clock  of  the  afternoon. 
The  King  repaired  to  the  church  to  praise  God. 
Bruce  met  him  as  he  was  about  to  enter, 
was  kindly  embraced  by  him  and  communed 
with  him  for  a  long  time.  On  the  6th  of  May, 
the  King  and  Queen  came  from  Leith  to  the 
palace  of  Holy  rood  ;  and  on  Sabbath  the  1 7th,  the 
Queen  was  crowned  in  the  Abbey  Church.  Not 
withstanding  some  little  demur,  this  was  thought 
not  improper  to  the  day  and  place  ;  because  like 
marriage  it  was  a  "mixed  action,"  and  a  solemn 
oath  was  passed  mutually  between  the  Prince  and 
his  subjects  and  from  both  to  God.  Bruce,  Pont, 
Lindsay,  Balcanquall,  and  the  King's  own  ministers 
were  appointed  to  be  present  at  the  coronation. 
After  the  court  and  the  ladies  were  placed  in  their 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  xxi 

seats  in  the  church,  there  were  three  sermons 
made,  one  in  Latin,  another  in  French,  the  third 
in  English.  After  sermon  Bruce  and  Craig  made 
short  orations  to  the  Queen.  She  was  then  con 
veyed  to  a  cabinet  within  the  church,  where  she 
was  clothed  in  her  royal  robes  and  so  returned  to 
her  own  chair.  Then  the  crown  was  set  upon 
her  head.  The  Lady  Alar  loosed  her  right  arm 
which  Bruce  plentifully  anointed,  as  also  her 
forehead  and  her  neck.  Upon  the  Tuesday  im 
mediately  following,  the  Queen  made  her  public 
entry  into  Edinburgh  with  various  and  ample 
ceremony.  She  went  into  the  church  and  sat  in 
the  east  end,  in  the  gallery,  under  a  fair  canopy 
of  velvet.  Bruce  made  the  sermon,  which  being 
ended  within  half-an-hour  the  Queen  was  brought 
forth.  Andrew  Melville  recited  a  Latin  ode  to 
the  great  admiration  of  the  ambassadors,  and 
which  the  King  acknowledged  as  an  honour  to 
himself  and  to  the  country.  When  published,  this 
poem  ("  Stephaniskion  ")  drew  from  Scaliger  the 
well-known  compliment  to  Melville,  " Profccto  nos 
talia  non  jiossumus  "  ;  and  Lipsius  having  read  it 
said,  "  Revera  Andreas  Mclvinus  est  serio  doctus." 
Shortly  after  these  events  came  Bruce's  own 
marriage  to  Margaret  Douglas,  daughter  of  Douglas 
of  Parkhead,  a  considerable  baron,  who,  some  years 
afterwards,  rendered  himself  conspicuous  by  slay 
ing  with  his  own  hand,  James  Stewart — Earl  of 
Arrau,  once  a  favourite  of  King  James,  and  an 
arch-enemy  to  the  Presbyterian  polity.  At  this 
time  Bruce's  own  family  became  thoroughly  re- 


xxii  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH 

conciled   to   him,   and   his    original   patrimony   of 
Kinnaird  was  restored  to  him  for  good. 

Up  till  now  we  have  seen  him  in  the  fullest 
favour  with  the  King,  and  for  several  years  follow 
ing  his  influence  at  Court  was  very  considerable, 
and  his  hold  on  the  people  of  Edinburgh  really 
never  relaxed.  But  we  must  next  trace  the  process 
by  which  the  King's  favour  was  lost  to  him,  and 
in  consequence  of  which  even  his  place  and  office 
were  at  length  forfeited.  During  all  this  process 
Bruce  never  stands  alone.  He  was  eminently  at 
the  head  of  the  ecclesiastical  party  whose  views  and 
desires  he  represented.  But  the  royal  displeasure 
at  last  so  concentrated  upon  him  that  he  may 
be  said  to  have  been  its  supreme  victim.  The 
earliest  cause  of  alienation  was  a  personal  one.  The 
King's  opposition  to  the  cause  of  the  Church  was 
not  yet  developed  ;  indeed,  can  hardly  be  said  to 
have  existed  at  all.  In  the  General  Assembly  of 
August  1590,  he  had  made  his  famous  speech, 
extolling  the  Church  of  Scotland  as  "  the  sincerest 
Kirk  in  the  world,"  and  placing  it  for  purity  of 
doctrine  and  discipline  even  beyond  the  "  Kirk  of 
Geneva,"  and  far  beyond  "  our  neighbour  Kirk  in 
England."  But  in  a  very  short  while,  a  personal 
alienation  developed,  on  the  ground  of  the  plain 
and  bold  terms  in  which  the  Presbyterian  ministers 
took  it  upon  them  to  address  their  monarch  especi 
ally  in  their  speeches  to  him  from  the  pulpit. 
The  manner  of  our  own  time  easily  condemns 
their  language  and  inclines  us  to  take  the  side 
of  the  King.  But  the  truth  is,  these  ministers 


ROBERT   BRUCE  OK  KINNAIKH, 

Minister  at  Edinburgh,  1587. 
From  an  Engraving  on  steel  by  J.  Swan. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH  xxiii 

were  honestly  trying  to  form  the  character  of 
their  young  King  and  had  not  yet  discovered 
that  the  task  was  hopeless.  The  feature  which 
at  Hrst  offended  them  in  James,  was  a  certain 
frivolity  and  inconsistency  which  would  not  take 
up  any  firm  course,  such  as  they  could  honestly 
approve.  In  the  year  1591,  after  a  visitation  of 
ministers  at  Holyrood  and  at  a  time  when  some 
trafficking  Papists  were  commanded  to  appear 
before  the  Council,  the  King  was  present  at  a 
sermon  in  the  Little  Kirk  in  which  Bruce  moved 
the  question,  "  what  could  the  great  disobedi 
ence  of  this  land  mean  now,  seeing  some  reverence 
had  been  borne  to  the  King's  shadow  when  he 
was  absent  ?  "  The  preacher  answered  his  own 
question  : 

"It  meant  a  universal  contempt  of  him 
by  his  subjects  ;  therefore,  ought  the  King  to 
call  upon  God  before  he  ate  or  drank  that  the 
Lord  should  give  him  a  resolution  to  execute 
justice  upon  malefactors,  although  it  should  be 
to  the  hazard  of  his  life."  This  is  a  pungent 
example  of  the  kind  of  reproof  often  directed, 
at  this  time,  by  the  ministers  to  their  sover 
eign.  James  soon  gave  them  serious  causes  of 
displeasure.  It  was  not  only  his  underhand 
dealings  with  Jesuits.  There  followed  his  un 
accountable  leniency  to  his  mad  cousin,  Bothwell. 
who  made  repeated  attempts  upon  his  person  and 
his  palace.  After  one  of  these,  at  Falkland,  in 
June  1592,  Bruce  said  from  the  pulpit,  "  Your 
Majesty  hath  had  many  admonitions  .  .  .  but 


xxiv  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

this  last  is  sharper  than  any  of  the  former. 
They  pretend  to  come  to  seek  justice  for  the 
last  terrible  murder,  and  how  can  you  punish 
others  when  you  are  pursued  yourself  ?  He 
desired  His  Majesty  to  humble  himself  before 
God  and  confess  his  negligence."  The  "  terrible 
murder,"  here  alluded  to,  was  the  putting  to 
death,  at  Donibristle,  in  February  of  the  same 
year,  of  the  Earl  of  Moray,  a  son-in-law  of  the 
Good  Regent,  by  the  Earl  of  Huntly.  James's 
unaccountable  indifference  about  this  vile  trans 
action,  and  his  failure  to  bring  anyone  to  justice 
because  of  it,  greatly  alienated  the  minds  of  the 
people  of  Scotland  from  their  King.  In  the 
same  year  occurred  the  incident  of  "  the  Spanish 
blanks,"  a  curious  cause  of  alarm  to  the  Reformers, 
chiefly  from  its  mysterious  nature.  The  docu 
ments  so  designated  were  blank  sheets,  with  a 
form  of  address  to  the  King  and  subscribed  by 
the  Popish  nobles — Huntly,  Errol,  and  Angus, 
besides  some  minor  emissaries.  Orders  were 
issued  to  the  Popish  lords  to  ward  themselves. 
The  King  himself  marched  with  a  party  to 
Aberdeen  and  they  fled  northwards,  leaving 
their  strongholds  at  his  mercy.  A  long  series  of 
wars  and  negotiations  followed,  with  petty  bicker 
ings  between  the  King  and  the  ministers,  about 
what  was  called  "  the  Act  of  Abolition,"  con 
ceived  by  him  for  the  protection  of  these  Popish 
rebels  from  the  sentence  of  excommunication. 
James  had  an  idea  that  to  conciliate  the  Romish 
members  of  his  own  aristocracy  was  one  of  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKHTCH  xxv 

methods  for  opening  to  him  the  way  to  the 
English  throne.  It  was  one  of  his  small  attempts 
at  kingcraft  founded  upon  the  notion,  which  he 
actually  expounded  to  Bruce,  that  there  existed 
in  England  a  powerful  Romish  faction  who  would 
otherwise  oppose  his  succession.  The  notion  was 
mistaken,  and  the  King  was  rebuked  l>y  Elizabeth 
herself  for  his  want  of  Protestant  firmness  and 
straightforwardness.  Now  it  was  upon  matters 
such  as  these  that  the  plain  speeches  of  the 
Presbyterian  ministers  were  founded.  However 
different  from  our  modern  manner,  it  is  easy  to 
see  the  justification  of  the  line  they  took.  There 
was  no  other  organ  of  public  expression,  or  of 
criticism,  in  things  political  except  the  pulpit  of 
the  Kirk.  There  was  no  public  press.  The 
nobles  were  constantly  engaged  in  factions  of 
their  own  and  had  no  united  mind  on  public 
affairs.  The  ministers  of  the  Kirk  were  really 
the  leaders  of  the  Scottish  nation  and,  however  rude 
and  unskilful,  their  remonstrances  were  honest. 

In  a  similar  way  we  must  deal  with  the  alleged 
disloyalty  of  the  ministers.  In  a  semi-jocular 
fashion  James  was  wont  to  hint  at  such  a  thing, 
on  the  part  of  even  Bruce  himself.  On  the 
occasion  of  his  return  from  a  professional  visi 
tation  of  the  East  Country  James  is  reported  to 
have  noted  him  from  the  windows  of  Holyrood, 
and  to  have  exclaimed,  with  indignation  and  an 
oath,  "Here  comes  Robert  Bruce — I  am  sure  he 
intends  to  be  King,  and  declare  himself  heir  to 
his  namesake." 


xxvi  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

Though  recorded  by  an  adversary,1  the  story 
bears  marks  of  truth,  or  at  least  pretty  accurate 
reflection  of  that  senseless  buffoonery  in  which  the 
royal  wit  often  displayed  itself.  A  more  definite 
case  was  made  out  in  the  following  fashion.  Upon 
Friday,  8th  December  1592,  some  of  the  ministers 
went  down  to  the  King  to  urge  a  proof  of  treason 
laid  to  the  charge  of  Robert  Bruce,  James  Gibson, 
Andrew  Hunter,  and  others.  The  King  would 
have  had  the  matter  passed  over  ;  that  is,  when 
it  came  to  the  point,  the  King  was  well  aware 
there  was  nothing  in  it.  But  upon  the  following 
Sabbath  Bruce  spoke  out  from  his  place.  He 
said  "  the  King  was  environed  with  liars,  and 
he  himself  would  suspend  preaching  till  he  was 
purged  of  that  heinous  accusation,  that  he  and 
others  had  conspired  to  take  the  crown  off  the 
King's  head  and  put  it  upon  Both  well."  He 
insisted  to  know  the  individuals  who  had  so 
slandered  him  to  His  Majesty.  After  some  shift 
ing  James  named  the  Master  of  Gray  and  one 
Tyrie  a  Papist  as  his  informers.  But  on  the  day 
fixed  for  investigating  the  affair  no  one  appeared 
to  make  good  the  charge.  Gray  having  left  the 
Court,  sent  word  that  he  had  given  no  such 
information  against  Bruce.  He  offered  to  fight 
any  one  (His  Majesty  excepted)  who  should  affirm 
that  he  had  defamed  the  minister.  "  Indeed,"  as 
M'Crie  remarks,  "  there  is  not  the  slightest  ground 
for  calling  in  question  the  loyalty  of  the  ministers 
of  the  Church,  or  their  decided  and  steady  attach- 
1  Bp.  Maxwell,  "  Issachar's  Burden,"  1646. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  xxvii 

mcnt  to  the  person  and  government  of  James. 
Had  the  King  ceased  from  favouring  a  faction, 
hostile  equally  to  his  crown  and  to  the  established 
religion,  had  he  exerted  a  reasonable  superinten 
dence  over  the*  administration  of  the  State,  and 
abstained  from  encroachments  on  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Church  ;  and,  above  all,  had  he  maintained 
his  word  and  promise  inviolate  he  would  have 
found  the  ministers  disposed  to  give  him  all  due 
satisfaction,  and  might  have  derived  from  them 
the  most  essential  and  efficient  support.  The 
submission  which  the  nobility  yielded  to  him  was 
always  partial  and  precarious.  .  .  .  The  preachers 
were  inclined  to  favour  no  faction  in  the  State. 
.  .  .  Had  their  jealousies  not  been  awakened  and 
kept  alive  by  the  misconduct  of  the  King  the  lead 
ing  men  among  them  possessed  too  much  sense 
and  were  too  well  aware  that  the  safety  of  the 
Church — including  their  own — depended  upon 
the  stability  of  his  government,  to  indulge  in  or 
countenance  any  freedoms  from  the  pulpit  which 
tended  to  embarrass  his  administration,  or  to 
bring  his  person  into  contempt."  l 

Bruce,  at  the  time  he  was  using  the  greatest 
freedom  in  rebuking  the  Court,  said,  "  It  is  our 
part  to  crave  wisdom  for  the  King  ;  because  for  as 
loose  as  he  is,  he  is  the  greatest  blessing  that  ever 
we  shall  see."  And  again,  "Surely  the  only  band 
temporal  that  holds  up  the  commonwealth  here, 
which  is  ruinous  on  all  sides,  and  is  like  to  fall  down, 
stands  upon  that  Prince.  Though  he  be  many  ways 
1  M'Crie,  "Life  of  Melville  "  (edition  1856),  p.  172. 


xxviii  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

abused,  out  of  question  were  he  removed,  I  look 
to  see  confusion  multiplied  upon  confusion." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  joint  influence 
of  the  "  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  Kirk  pre 
sented  to  James  a  powerful  instrument,  not  pos 
sessed  by  any  of  his  predecessors,  for  suppressing 
the  feuds  of  the  nobility,  purifying  the  administra 
tion  of  justice,  civilizing  and  reforming  the  morals 
of  the  people.  Had  he  known  how  to  avail  him 
self  of  this,  his  reign  in  Scotland  might  have  been 
tranquil  and  happy."  The  strange  delusion  pos 
sessing  the  minds  of  our  historians  is  that  the 
ministers  of  the  Kirk  were  bent  upon  some  pro 
fessional  or  sectarian  purpose  instead  of  the  welfare 
of  the  nation  at  large.  If  the  eyes  of  these 
writers  had  been  open  to  the  facts  of  history 
they  would  have  seen,  what  the  event  has  demon 
strated,  that  just  as  at  an  earlier  stage,  Holland 
and  the  more  powerful  of  the  Swiss  Cantons  had 
chosen  that  form  of  the  Reformed  faith,  the 
Scottish  nation  adhered  to  the  Presbyterian  re 
ligion — that  the  ministers  were  the  real  leaders 
of  the  Scottish  people — that  their  purpose  was 
patriotic,  and  their  aim  coincident  with  the 
triumph  of  civil  and  religious  liberty. 

Up  to  the  point  we  have  reached  there  had 
been  no  attack  on  the  King's  part  upon  the  con 
stitution  of  the  Scottish  Church.  The  tendency 
of  progress  was  rather  in  the  other  direction. 
The  General  Assembly  having  met  on  21st  May 
1592,  for  the  second  time  chose  Robert  Bruce  as 
their  Moderator.  The  main  things  enacted  in  this 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  xxix 

Assembly  were  the  annulling  of  the  Acts  of  1584 
against  the  discipline  of  the  Kirk  ;  the  abolition 
of  the  Act  of  annexation  ;  and  the  restitution 
of  the  patrimony  of  the  Kirk.  In  the  Parliament 
which  met  immediately  thereafter,  the  Presbyterian 
polity  and  discipline  were  established,  and  to  these 
enactments  the  Church  of  Scotland  has  ever  looked 
back  as  to  the  charter  of  her  liberties.  During  the 
years  succeeding, — 1593-5 — there  was  a  general 
concurrence  between  the  King  and  the  Kirk,  a 
time  of  prosperity  for  the  Church  and  of  partial 
peace  for  the  kingdom.  The  only  domestic  events 
of  note  were  the  birth  of  Prince  Henry,  August 
151)4,  and  the  death  of  Chancellor  Maitland,  3rd 
October  159").  We  read  that  "  Robert  Bruce, 
one  of  the  leading  ministers,  rode  at  four  o'clock  of 
the  morning  to  Tliirlestanc  (near  Lander),  to  find 
the  Chancellor  full  of  penitence  for  neglected  oppor 
tunities,  and  imploring  the  prayers  of  the  Kirk. 
He  was  sorely  troubled  in  conscience  with  fears  that 
his  dealings  between  the  King  and  Queen  should 
come  out."1  There  had  been  some  dispute  the  pre 
vious  year  about  the  care  of  the  young  Prince. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  159G  Calder- 
wood  writes  :  "  This  year  is  remarkable  to  the 
Kirk  of  Scotland  both  for  the  beginning  and 
for  the  end  of  it.  The  Kirk  of  Scotland  was 
now  come  to  her  perfection  and  the  greatest 
purity  that  ever  she  attained,  so  that  her  beauty 
was  admirable  to  foreign  Kirks.  The  assemblies 
of  the  saints  were  never  so  glorious,  nor  profitable 
1  Tytler,  "  History  of  Scotland,"  vol.  iv.  238. 


xxx  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH 

to  every  one  of  the  true  members  thereof,  as  in 
the  beginning  of  this  year.  There  was  good 
appearance  of  further  reformation  of  abuses  and 
corruptions,  and  the  appearance  of  a  constant 
provision  for  all  the  parish  kirks  within  the 
country."  What  he  notes  about  the  end  of  that 
same  year  is  of  a  totally  different  character,  and 
marks  an  unhappy  departure  which  set  in  and 
continued  for  many  years.  The  point  of  quarrel 
is  very  much  the  old  one,  viz.,  the  resentment  felt 
by  the  King  at  the  liberties  taken  by  the  Scottish 
preachers  in  the  pulpit.  His  vanity  and  self- 
conceit  were  deeply  wounded  by  these  attacks. 
They  contrasted  very  keenly  with  the  suavity 
which  marked  the  representatives  of  a  Court  and 
Church  where  a  maiden  queen  had  sway,  and  he 
was  rapidly  approaching  that  episcopal  leaning 
which  afterwards  condensed  itself  in  his  favourite 
maxim,  "No  Bishop,  no  King."  The  point  from 
which  the  whole  quarrel  developed  was  the 
process  raised  by  the  King  against  Mr  David 
Black.  This  minister  of  St  Andrews  had 
preached  a  sermon  towards  the  close  of  the  year 
1596,  in  which  he  not  only  adverted  on  the 
threatened  triumph  of  idolatry  (i.e.  Popery)  at 
home,  but  raised  his  voice  against  the  Prelacy 
which  had  established  itself  in  the  neighbour 
ing  kingdom.  "  As  for  His  Highness,  none  knew 
better  than  he  did  of  the  meditated  return  of 
these  Papist  lords,  and  herein  he  was  guilty 
of  manifest  treachery.  Were  not  the  Lords 
of  Session  miscreants  and  bribers,  the  nobility 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKKTCH  xxxi 

cormorants,  and  the  Queen  of  Scotland  one  whom 
for  fashion's  sake  they  might  pray  for,  but  in 
whose  time  it  was  vain  to  hope  for  good?" 

For  these  injudicious  remarks  Black  was  at 
once  summoned  before  the  Privy  Council.  Now 
such  a  summons  raised  far  deeper  questions 
as  to  the  liberty  of  the  pulpit  and  the  juris 
diction  of  the  Church.  After  careful  consulta 
tion  with  his  brethren,  Black  declined  the 
judicature  of  the  Council,  at  least  in  the  first 
instance,  declaring  that  the  Ecclesiastical  Court 
must  first  judge  whether  or  not  he  had  trans 
gressed  his  bounds  ;  that  upon  their  so  deciding, 
he  would  not  decline  to  submit  himself  to  the 
civil  authority,  and  to  undergo  the  judgment  they 
should  inflict  upon  him.  Upon  this  point  the 
whole  Church  sided  with  Black,  and  tho  firm, 
strong  hand  of  Bruce  can  be  traced  in  several  of 
the  public  documents  of  the  time.  On  one  occa 
sion  it  was  Bruce  himself  who  gave  striking 
answer  to  a  suggestion  of  compromise  made  by 
the  King.  "  If  it  was  Mr  Black's  particular,"  he 
said,  "  that  was  in  question,  His  Majesty's  offer 
was  thankfully  to  be  accepted ;  but  seeing  it  was 
the  liberty  of  Christ's  Gospel  that  was  grievously 
wounded  by  the  proclamation,  and  the  preaching 
of  the  word  by  usurpation  of  the  judicatory,  it 
was  a  matter  of  such  importance  in  the  estimation 
of  all  the  brethren  that  if  the  King  had  taken  Mr 
Black's  life,  and  a  dozen  of  others  with  him,  he 
could  not  have  wounded  the  hearts  of  the  brethren 
more,  £nor  done  such  injury  to  the  Lord  Jesus." 


xxxii  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH 

On  this  answer  being  given,  a  gentleman  of  the 
Chamber  came  the  next  morning  to  shew  how 
much  the  King  was  moved ;  that  he  had  thought 
upon  the  matter  all  night,  and  requested  that  the 
preacher  be  calm  that  day.  To  this  it  was 
returned  that  "  the  brother  who  was  to  teach  had 
God  to  answer,  and  his  brethren's  expectation, 
whom  he  could  not  offend  for  pleasuring  all  the 
kings  of  the  earth."  A  very  tender  point  had 
evidently  been  touched.  It  was  only  roughly 
debated  at  the  time.  But  it  was  unquestionably 
one  which  perplexed  that  whole  period,  and  led 
at  last  to  the  inevitable  result.  King  James  said 
no  one  could  doubt  that  Black  had  exceeded  his 
bounds.  Probably  no  one  but  Black  himself — 
if  even  he — did  ever  doubt  it.  But  who  was  to 
call  him  to  account  ?  Was  it  for  the  civil  authority 
at  once  to  step  in  ?  If  so,  where  was  the  liberty 
of  the  Word  of  God  ?  Were  there  not  regular 
Church  Courts  whose  province  it  was  to  deal  in 
the  first  instance  with  such  offenders  ?  That 
was  the  whole  contention  of  the  ministers.  But 
the  occasion  was  made  one  for  carrying  civil  or 
royal  jurisdiction  into  spiritual  matters.  Not 
withstanding  repeated  declinature  on  the  part  of 
the  ministers,  the  Privy  Council  at  length  decided 
against  Black,  found  all  the  charges  against  him 
proved,  and  sentenced  him  to  be  confined  beyond 
the  North  Water,  until  His  Majesty  resolved 
what  further  punishment  should  be  inflicted  on 
him.  This  is  the  first  cut  of  the  civil  sword 
into  the  liberties  of  the  Christian  Church.  The 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  xxxiii 

quarrel  may  be  said  to  have  raged,  at  intervals, 
for  nearly  a  hundred  years  to  come  in  Scotland. 
Stealthily  and  subtly,  at  first  almost  uncon 
sciously,  or,  from  lack  of  discernment,  was  the 
encroachment  made  by  James,  more  openly  by 
his  successors,  until  this  claim  to  rule  the  con 
science  and  religion  of  the  nation  by  civil  and 
military  force  provoked  the  expulsion  of  the 
Stuart  dynasty  from  the  throne. 

But  this  particular  dispute  we  are  now  con 
sidering  was  further  embroiled  by  Court  factions. 
The  Octet vians,  as  they  were  called,  that  is,  the 
eight  gentlemen  appointed  for  the  control  of  the 
royal  finances,  restricted  the  King  from  lavishing 
money  upon  his  private  favourites.  Irritated  at 
this,  the  latter,  known  at  the  time  by  the  name  of 
Cubiculars,  or  gentlemen  of  the  bed-chamber,  were 
desirous  of  driving  these  statesmen  from  their 
places;  and  to  accomplish  this  object,  they  in 
dustriously  fomented  the  dissension  between  the 
King  and  the  Church.  They  insinuated  to  the 
Octavians  that  the  friends  of  the  ministers  were 
engaged  in  a  plot  against  their  lives.  They,  at 
the  same  time,  privately  assured  the  ministers 
that  the  Octaviaus  were  the  advisers  of  the  return 
of  the  Popish  lords  .  .  .  and  of  the  prosecution 
of  Black  ;  that  it  was  through  their  influence  that 
the  mind  of  the  King  was  alienated  from  the 
Church,  and  that  they  intended  nothing  less  than 
the  overthrow  of  the  Protestant  religion. 

The  result  of  these  plottings  was  the  so-called 
tumult  of  seventeenth  December  (159(5),  which 


xxxiv          BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

has  been  magnified  into  a  daring  and  horrid  re 
bellion.     On  the  morning  of  that  day,  information 
was  conveyed  to  Bruce  that  the  Earl  of  Huntly 
had   been   all   night   in   the  palace  and   that  his 
friends   and   retainers    were   at    hand  waiting  for 
orders  to  enter  the  Capital.      This  communication, 
which   was   partly  true,   excited    the  more   alarm 
that  a  charge  had  just  been  given  to  twenty-four 
of  the   most   zealous   burghers  to   leave   the  city 
within   six   hours.       This   being   the    day   of  the 
weekly  sermon  the   ministers   agreed   to   call   to 
gether    the    barons    and    burgesses    after    public 
worship    to    advise    what    ought   to    be    done,    a 
practice  for  which  the  ministers  had  the  authority 
of  an    express   act   of  privy   council.      They  met 
accordingly  and    deputed   two    persons    from  each 
of  the  estates  to  wait  on  the  King,  who  happened 
then   to  be  in   the  immediate   neighbourhood,   in 
conference  with  the  Lords  of  Session  in  the  Upper 
Tolbooth.       Having  obtained    an  audience  Bruce 
told  His  Majesty  that  they  were  sent  to  lay  before 
him  the  dangers  which  threatened  religion.     "What 
dangers  see   you?"   said  the  King.      Bruce   men 
tioned   what   they    had  been    told    as  to  Huntly. 
"  What  have   you    to   do  with    that  ? "    said    His 
Majesty,  "  and  how  durst  you  convene  against  my 
proclamation."       "  Dare,"    said     the    fierce    Lord 
Lindsay,    "  we  dare  more  than  that,  and  will  not 
suffer    the    truth    to    be    overthrown    and    stand 
tamely  by."      Upon  this  the  King  retired  to  an 
inner  apartment  or  retreated  downstairs  and  com 
manded    the   door  to  be  shut  upon  them      The 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  xxxv 

Protestant  barons  and  ministers  returned  to  the 
Little  Kirk,  where  meanwhile  Craustoun — a  1'or- 
ward  minister — had  been  reading  to  the  people 
in  the  church  certain  Scripture  passages — among 
others  the  story  of  Hainan  and  Mordecai.  Per 
ceiving  that  their  minds  were  somewhat  moved, 
Bruce  proposed  that  they  should  defer  the  con 
sideration  of  their  grievances  and  merely  pledge 
themselves  at  present,  for  the  defence  of  their 
religion.  This  proposal  having  been  received  with 
acclamation,  he  besought  them  as  they  regarded 
the  credit  of  their  cause,  to  be  silent  and  quiet. 
At  this  moment  an  unknown  person  (supposed  to 
have  been  tin  emissary  of  the  Cubiculars)  hastily 
entered  the  church  and  cried  out,  "  Fy  !  Fy  !  save 
yourselves,  the  Papists  are  coining  to  massacre 
you.  Bills  and  axes  !  "  and  someone  exclaimed, 
"  The  sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  (Jideon."  "  These 
are  not  our  weapons,"  cried  Bruce,  but  panic  had 
seized  them.  They  rushed  into  the  street,  where 
they  found  a  crowd  already  collected,  and  for 
a  time  all  was  confusion.  The  ministers  imme 
diately  called  in  the  aid  of  the  magistrates,  and 
by  their  joint  persuasion  the  tumult  was  speedily 
quelled.  Within  less  than  an  hour,  not  an  offen 
sive  weapon,  not  the  least  symptom  of  riot  were 
to  be  seen  on  the  streets.  The  barons  and 
ministers  resumed  their  deliberations  and  sent  to 
lay  their  requests  before  the  King.  His  Majesty 
directed  them  to  come  to  him  in  the  afternoon, 
after  which  he  walked  down  the  public  street 
to  Holyrood  attended  by  his  courtiers,  with  as 


xxxvi  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH 

much    quietness    and    security    as    he    had    ever 
experienced. 

Such  are  the  facts  connected  with  this  famous 
incident.  "  No  tumult  in  the  world,"  says  Baillie, 
"  was  ever  more  harmless  in  its  effects  or  more 
innocent  in  its  causes,  if  you  consider  all  those 
who  did  openly  act  therein."  It  was  never 
seriously  alleged  that  there  was  the  most  distant 
idea  of  touching  the  person  of  the  King.  No 
assault  was  made  upon  the  meanest  creature 
belonging  to  the  Court ;  no  violence  was  offered 
to  the  person  or  the  property  of  a  single  in 
dividual.  So  far  from  partaking  of  the  nature 
of  a  rebellion,  the  affair  scarcely  deserves  the 
name  of  a  riot.  Unpremeditated  in  its  origin 
and  harmless  in  its  effects,  as  the  uproar  in 
Edinburgh  was,  it  offered  a  pretext  which  was 
eagerly  laid  hold  of  by  the  Court  for  com 
mencing  an  attack  on  the  government  of  the 
Church.  It  was  comparatively  easy  to  involve 
the  ministers  who  were  present  on  the  occasion, 
in  the  odium  attached  to  that  crime.  Nothing 
could  be  more  congenial  to  the  character  of 
James  than  this  piece  of  policy,  which  had  a 
show  of  deep  wisdom  in  the  device  and  required 
a  very  slender  portion  of  courage  in  the  exe 
cution.  The  King  hastily  quitted  Edinburgh 
and  the  palace.  As  soon  as  he  was  gone,  a 
proclamation  was  issued  requiring  all  in  public 
office  to  repair  to  him  at  Linlithgow.  The 
ministers  of  Edinburgh  with  a  certain  number 
of  the  citizens  were  commanded  to  enter  ward 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH          xxxvii 

in  the  castle,  and  were  summoned  before  the 
privy-council  at  Linlithgow.  The  tumult  was 
declared  to  be  "  a  cruel  and  barbarous  attempt 
against  His  Majesty's  royal  person,  his  nobility 
and  council,  at  the  instigation  of  certain  seditious 
ministers  and  barons."  Events  concurred  ap 
parently  with  the  King  in  this  policy.  On 
the  day  that  he  left  Edinburgh  the  barons 
who  remained  met  and  agreed  to  take  upon 
them  the  mediation  of  the  Church  and  its 
cause.  At  their  desire  Bruce  wrote  a  letter 
to  Lord  Hamilton  asking  him  to  come  and 
countenance  them  in  the  matter.  The  letter 
was  altered,  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  make  it 
express  approbation  of  the  tumult  and  was  so 
conveyed  by  Hamilton  to  the  Court  at  Lin 
lithgow.  The  Court  did  not  dare  to  make  any 
public  use  of  this  vitiated  document,  but  it 
was  privately  circulated  to  blast  the  reputation 
of  Bruce  and  his  friends.  In  the  beginning 
of  January  1597  His  Majesty  with  great  pomp 
and  in  a  warlike  attitude  returned  to  Edinburgh. 
It  was  ordained  that  the  Courts  of  Justice  should 
be  removed  and  that  no  meeting  of  General 
Assembly,  Synod,  or  Presbytery  should  hence 
forth  be  held  within  the  Capital.  A  deputation 
from  the  Town  Council  waited  on  the  King  to 
implore  forgiveness  for  a  tumult  which  they  had 
done  everything  in  their  power  to  suppress. 
Their  supplication  was  rejected,  and  they  heard 
nothing  but  denunciations  of  vengeance.  They 
were  told  that  the  Borderers  would  be  brought 


xxxviii         BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

in  upon  them — that  their  city  would  be  razed 
to  the  ground  and  sowed  with  salt,  that  a 
monument  would  be  erected  on  the  place  where 
it  stood  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  such  an 
execrable  treason.  The  ministers  advised  by 
their  friends  withdrew  and  concealed  themselves 
for  a  time.  Bruce  and  Balcanquhal  went  into 
England.  Balfour  and  Watson  concealed  them 
selves  in  Fife.  As  soon  as  it  was  known 
that  they  had  taken  this  step  they  were  publicly 
denounced  as  rebels.  The  spirits  of  the  Edinburgh 
magistrates  and  citizens  were  cowed  by  the  pro 
ceedings  of  the  King  ;  and  the  magistrates  offered 
to  deliver  up  those  who  had  fostered  the  so-called 
tumult.  The  King  deemed  that  he  had  gone  far 
enough  for  the  present,  and  proceeded  to  reassure 
the  trembling  citizens. 

Why  so  much  was  made  by  James  and  by 
those  writers  who  take  his  side,  of  this  trifling 
disturbance  comes  out  very  clearly  in  the  events 
which  follow,  and  is  by  no  one  made  clearer 
than  by  Tytler,  "  The  tumult  committed  by  the 
citizens  and  the  part  acted  in  it  by  the  clergy 
wras  a  prodigious  advantage  to  the  monarch  who 
quickly  perceived  it.  He  was  well  aware  of 
the  difficulty  of  dealing  with  the  ministers  as 
long  as  they  confined  themselves  to  their  political 
attacks  in  the  pulpit,  and  pleaded  an  indepen 
dent  jurisdiction;  but  the  Bailies  and  citizens 
were  unquestionably  amenable  to  the  authority 
of  the  Crown  and  the  laws.  They  were,  with 
scarcely  a  single  exception,  Protestants  warmly 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  xxxix 

attached  to  the  Kirk  and  a  principal  clement 
in  its  power.  All  this  the  King  knew,  and 
when  he  saw  that  he  had  them  within  his 
grasp,  he  determined  they  should  feel  the  full 
weight  of  his  resentment.  .  .  .  The  sword  was 
thus  kept  suspended  over  the  heads  of  the  un 
happy  magistrates  and  their  capital  ;  and  it 
was  quite  apparent  that  the  King,  having  be 
come  convinced  of  his  own  strength,  was  deter 
mined  to  defer  the  moment  of  mercy  till  he 
had  accomplished  some  great  purpose  which 
now  tilled  his  mind.  Thin  was  nothing  Less 
than  the  establishment  of  Episcopacy.  The 
recent  excesses  of  the  more  violent  ministers 
had  made  the  deepest  impression  upon  the 
monarch  ;  and  it  was  evident  to  him  that  it' 
the  principles  of  independent  jurisdiction  which 
they  had  not  hesitated  to  adopt  were  preached 
and  acted  upon,  there  must  ensue  a  per 
petual  collision  between  the  ecclesiastical  and 
civil  authorities.  He  longed  therefore  to  see 
(in  the  words  of  Spottiswood)  '  a  decent  authority 
established  in  the  Kirk,  which  should  be  con 
sistent  with  the  word  of  God,  the  custom  of 
primitive  times,  and  the  laws  of  the  realm/  and 
he  believed  that  no  fitter  moment  could  occur 
to  carry  this  great  object  than  the  present." l 
His  first  step  was  to  summon  a  General  Assembly 
of  the  Church  to  meet  at  Perth  on  the  last  of 
February  1597.  A  series  of  questions — pre 
pared,  it  is  said,  before  the  Edinburgh  tumults 
'Tytlcr,  "History  of  Scotland,"  vol.  iv.  p.  256. 


xl  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

— were  suggested  for  the  consideration  of  synods 
and  presbyteries  implying  a  compromise  on  the 
debated  topic  of  the  jurisdictions.  For  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  the  composition  of  this  assembly  was 
cooked  by  the  King's  instructions.  He  did  his 
part  to  keep  Melville,  Bruce  and  others  of  the 
leading  lowland  ministers  from  being  members 
of  it.  He  instructed  his  emissaries  to  scour 
the  Highlands  and  other  northern  districts  and 
secure  as  many  as  possible  of  the  north- 
country  ministers — more  lukewarm  Presbyterians 
and  more  devoted  courtiers  than  their  lowland 
brethren. 

This  assembly,  which  on  the  whole  inclined  to 
the  royal  view,  was  called  an  "  extraordinary " 
one,  and  its  validity  was  doubted.  The  King 
gained  several  points.  It  was  agreed  that  no 
unusual  conventions  should  be  held  amongst 
pastors  without  the  royal  consent,  and  that  the 
acts  of  the  privy  council  or  the  laws  passed  by 
the  three  estates  should  not  be  attacked  or  dis 
cussed  in  the  pulpit ;  that  in  the  principal  towns 
of  the  realm  no  minister  should  be  chosen  with 
out  consent  of  the  King  and  of  the  flock ;  and 
that  no  man  should  by  name  be  rebuked  in  the 
pulpit,  unless  he  had  fled  from  justice  or  were 
under  sentence  of  excommunication.1 

James's  next  step  was  to  reconcile  the  Catholic 
lords  to  the  Kirk,  and  here  he  was  equally 
successful.  The  ceremony  of  their  reconciliation 
1  Spottiswoode,  p.  441. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  xli 

to  the  Kirk  and  restoration  to  their  estates,  took 
place  in  the  Old  Kirk  in  Aberdeen,  the  2Gth  of 
June  1597.  The  repentant  earls  then  received 
the  Sacrament  after  the  Presbyterian  form,  and 
solemnly  swore  to  keep  order  in  their  wide  and 
wild  territories.  This  success  encouraged  James 
to  go  forward  with  his  great  ecclesiastical  project. 
The  question  was  raised  of  representing  the  Kirk 
in  Parliament.  To  prepare  for  this,  a  commission 
was  proposed  of  the  wisest  among  the  brethren. 
Fourteen  were  chosen,  most  of  whom  were  known 
to  be  favourable  to  the  views  of  the  Court.  The 
"  King's  led  horse,"  as  Calderwood  styles  this 
body,  gave  a  specimen  of  their  quality  during 
the  summer  and  soon  hud  their  petition  before 
Parliament  for  a  share  in  its  councils.  Its  re 
quisition  was  in  these  words,  "That  the  ministers, 
as  representing  the  Church  and  third  estate  of 
the  Kingdom,  might  be  admitted  to  have  a  voice 
in  Parliament."  This  application,  made  so  artfully 
as  to  seem  to  come  from  the  Kirk  itself,  was  the 
first  step  towards  restoring  the  order  of  bishops. 
A  General  Assembly  was  soon  after  convened  in 
which  the  subject  was  solemnly  argued  in  the 
King's  presence.  The  object  had  been  already 
wittily  exposed  and  ridiculed  by  Davidson. 
"  Busk  him,  busk  him,"  said  he,  "  as  bonnily  as 
ye  can,  and  fetch  him  in  as  fairly  as  ye  will,  we 
ken  him  weel  eneuch  ;  we  see  the  horns  of  his 
mitre."  In  the  assembly,  just  mentioned,  it  was 
keenly  debated  by  James  Melville,  Davidson, 
Bruce,  Carmichael  and  Ami  and  denounced  in 
d 


xlii  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

the  strongest  language.  James  had  tried  every 
method  of  conciliation.  He  had  extended  his 
forgiveness  to  the  ministers  of  Edinburgh  for 
their  part  in  the  late  tumult ;  he  restored  their 
privileges  and  the  comfort  of  his  royal  presence 
to  the  magistrates  and  citizens  of  the  Capital, 
but  in  the  end,  this  scheme  of  his  was  carried 
in  the  assembly  only  by  a  narrow  majority  of 
ten.  And  the  final  establishment  of  this  modi 
fied  form  of  Episcopacy  did  not  take  place  for 
more  than  twelve  months  after,  in  a  General 
Assembly  convened  at  Montrose,  28th  March 
1600. 

Meanwhile,  at  least  two  severe  passages  at 
arms  of  a  more  personal  nature  took  place  be 
tween  Bruce  and  the  King.  The  first  of  these 
has  been  already  slightly  alluded  to.  It  had 
been  determined,  several  years  before,  that  the 
pastoral  care,  at  Edinburgh,  should  be  divided 
into  eight  several  charges.  Bruce  as  the  principal 
minister  of  Edinburgh  could  of  course  not  be 
passed  over.  The  question  was  now  (14th  April 
1598)  put  to  him,  in  presence  of  the  King, 
whether  he  was  willing  to  accept  a  particular 
flock  according  to  the  Act  of  Assembly.  He  at 
once  assented.  Then  it  was  suggested  that  he 
must  have  ordination  in  addition  to  the  others, 
for  this  had  in  his  case  been  omitted  before.  A 
prolonged  and  acrimonious  contest  here  broke  out 
on  the  King's  part.  It  was  characteristic  of 
James's  petty  acuteness  to  go  back  now  upon 
that  old  matter  and  make  so  much  of  it.  It 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  xliii 

is  difficult  to  conceive  on  what  ground  one  so 
prominent  and  distinguished  in  the  Church  of 
Scotland  as  Bruce  could  have  been  assailed  on 
the  score  of  a  technical  informality,  which  had 
occurred  at  the  very  beginning  of  his  ministry, 
in  those  somewhat  unsettled  times.  The  length 
and  intricacy  of  the  discussion,  degenerating  even 
to  a  personal  wrangle  on  the  King's  part,  seems 
now  so  grossly  pedantic,  as  to  recall  Carlyle's 
suggestion  that  the  ferule  of  a  schoolmaster 
would  have  became  James  better  than  the  sceptre 
of  a  monarch.1  Bruce  explained  that  he  was 
perfectly  willing  to  accept  "  imposition  of  hands," 
in  common  with  his  brethren,  in  token  of  their 
admission  to  these  particular  cures,  but  that  he 
could  not  submit  to  a  special  ordination  which 
would  have  seemed  to  invalidate  all  his  previous 
ministry.  The  Presbytery  came  frankly  forward 
at  this  point  (2nd  May  1.398)  and  declared 
Bruce  "  to  be  a  lawful  pastor  of  the  Kirk  of 
Edinburgh,  having  his  calling  of  the  General 
Assembly  thereto."  The  "  imposition  of  hands  " 
was  at  length  conferred  (19th  May).  But  it  is 
only  when  we  attend  to  the  gradual  and  stealthy 
process  the  King's  mind  was  now  following,  that 
we  begin  to  perceive  the  significance  of  the  inci 
dent.  "  Imposition  of  hands  "  had  been  regarded 
in  the  Scottish  Church  as  a  ceremony,  somewhat 
indifferent,  and  not  absolutely  necessary.  Now 
when  the  foundations  of  Episcopacy  were  being 
attempted  to  be  laid,  all  this  was  changed.  If 
1  Carlyle's  "Historical  Sketches,"  p.  147  (1898). 


xliv  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH 

ordination  to  the  ministry  cannot  be  received 
without  imposition  of  hands,  and  if  possible  by 
the  hands  of  a  bishop,  it  becomes  plainer  why 
the  King  and  the  Commissioners  were  so  very 
stringent  in  the  matter. 

The  other  incident  was,  if  possible,  more  grossly 
and  peculiarly  personal.  It  pertained  to  what  the 
King  chose  to  call  Bruce's  "  pension."  Bruce  had 
a  grant  out  of  the  Abbey  of  Arbroath  of  twenty- 
four  chalders  of  victual,  by  a  gift  for  his  lifetime. 
On  the  10th  February  of  this  year  the  King  took  it 
from  him,  without  notice,  and  openly  assisted  Lord 
Hamilton's  tenants  in  resisting  Bruce's  "  charge." 
Bruce  offered  to  pass  from  his  gift  if  the  King 
would  keep  it  in  his  own  hands,  or  bestow  it  in 
settling  the  stipends  of  the  Church.  But  the 
King  transferred  it  to  Lord  Hamilton,  upon  which 
Bruce  went  on  with  his  process  before  the  Lords 
of  Session.  Tytler's  account  of  what  followed  is 
worthy  of  quotation  as  showing  how  that  Court 
had  already  improved  its  position.  "  The  subject 
of  quarrel  was  a  judgment  pronounced  by  the 
Court  in  favour  of  the  celebrated  minister.  .  .  . 
Bruce  sued  the  Crown  and  obtained  a  decision  in 
his  favour.  The  monarch  appealed,  came  to  the 
court  in  person,  pleaded  his  own  cause  with  the 
utmost  violence,  and  commanded  the  judges  to 
give  their  vote  against  Mr  Robert.  The  president, 
Seton,  then  rose  :  '  My  liege,'  said  he,  '  it  is  my 
part  to  speak  first  in  this  Court  of  which  your 
Highness  has  made  me  head.  You  are  our  King  ; 
we,  your  subjects  bound  and  ready  to  obey  you 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH  xlv 

from  the  heart,  and  with  all  devotion  to  serve  you 
with  our  lives  and  substance,  but  this  is  a  matter 
of  law,  in  which  we  are  sworn  to  do  justice  accord 
ing  to  our  conscience  and  the  statutes  of  the  realm. 
Your  Majesty  may,  indeed,  command  us  to  the  con 
trary,  in  which  case  I,  and  every  honest  man  on 
this  bench,  will  either  vote  according  to  conscience, 
or  resign  and  not  vote  at  all.'  Another  of  the 
judges,  Lord  Ncwbattle,  spoke  in  the  same  strain 
and  alluded  to  the  imputation  that  they  dared  not 
do  justice  in  that  court  to  all  classes.  He  said 
'  they  would  now  deliver  a  unanimous  opinion 
against  the  Crown.'  For  this  brave  and  dignified 
conduct  James  was  unprepared  ;  he  proceeded  to 
reason  long  and  earnestly  with  the  recusants,  but 
persuasions,  arguments,  taunts,  and  threats  were 
unavailing.  The  judges,  with  only  two  dissentient 
votes,  pronounced  their  decision  in  favour  of  Bruce, 
and  the  mortified  monarch  flung  out  of  Court 
'  muttering  revenge  and  raging  marvellously.' 
When  the  subservient  temper  of  those  times  is 
considered,  and  we  remember  that  Seton  the 
President  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  while  Bruce 
was  a  chief  leader  of  the  Presbyterian  ministers, 
it  would  be  unjust  to  withhold  our  admiration  from 
a  judge  and  a  court  which  had  the  courage  thus 
fearlessly  to  assert  the  supremacy  of  the  law."  l 
How  the  matter  ended  can  be  easily  foreseen.  On 
the  18th  January  1C 00  Bruce  resigned  into  the 
King's  own  hand  a  gift  which  was  so  reluctantly  con 
tinued  and  had  been  so  frequently  interfered  with. 
1  Tytler,  "History  of  Scotland,"  iv.  270. 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 


But  this  brings  us  to  the  last  and  severest 
public  trial  which  Bruce  encountered  with  the 
King.  At  Perth,  on  5th  August  1600,  occurred 
the  fatal  termination  of  the  well-known  Gowrie 
conspiracy.  On  August  6th,  by  ten  o'clock  in 
the  forenoon,  the  Town  Council  of  Edinburgh 
received  a  letter  from  the  King  giving  them  an 
account  of  his  deliverance  and  commanding  the 
ministers  to  return  public  thanks  on  his  behalf. 
The  ministers  agreed,  in  general,  but  not  to  enter 
into  particulars.  On  coming  out  they  found  the 
magistrates  summoned  to  a  Privy  Council  and  a 
charge  to  themselves  to  attend.  The  Chancellor 
desired  them  to  go  to  the  church  and  praise  God 
for  the  King's  marvellous  deliverance  from  so  vile 
a  treason.  Bruce  answered  they  were  not  certain 
of  the  treason,  but  they  would  go,  and  in  general 
terms  bless  God  for  His  Majesty's  deliverance  from 
great  danger.  While  they  were  talking  Mr  David 
Lindsay  arrived  from  Falkland,  where  he  had  heard 
the  King  tell  the  matter.  It  was  thought  best 
that  Lindsay  should  speak,  so  the  Council  and 
the  rest  went  with  him  to  the  Cross  where  Lind 
say  harangued  ;  where  the  people  with  uncovered 
heads  praised  God  ;  bells  were  rung,  fires  were 
kindled,  and  the  like. 

On  Tuesday,  August  12th,  the  King  himself 
having  arrived  in  Edinburgh  summoned  the  minis 
ters  and  asked  why  they  had  disobeyed  him. 
Bruce  answered  that  they  did  not  disobey,  but 
gave  thanks  to  God,  as  they  all  did  on  the  Sabbath 
after.  The  King  questioned  each  of  the  ministers. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKKTCH  xlvii 

In  a  little  while  they  were  called  in  again  and 
sentence  intimated  that  they  were  suspended 
from  preaching  under  pain  of  death,  ami  were 
charged  to  remove  out  of  Edinburgh  within  forty- 
eight  hours  and  not  come  within  ten  miles  of  it. 
This  quarrel  was  speedily  patched  up,  so  far  as  the 
other  ministers  were  concerned,  but  the  difference 
between  Bruce  and  the  King  continued  unrecon 
ciled. 

Grounds  for  their  hesitation  are  obvious  enough. 
The  young  Earl  of  Gowrie  had  returned  to  his  own 
country  only  a  few  months  before,  with  the  favour 
of  England,  and  with  special  commendation  to  the 
Reformers  from  Beza  with  whom  for  a  time  he 
had  sojourned  when  on  the  Continent.  At  first  a 
strong  suspicion  was  entertained  in  the  country 
that  the  atfair  at  Perth  was  rather  a  design  of  the 
King  against  the  Gowries,  than  a  conspiracy  of 
the  Gowries  against  the  King.  And  the  extreme 
haste,  violence,  and  partizunship  of  James  in  the 
matter  rather  tended  to  confirm  these  suspicions. 
It  was  several  years  after,  before  all  reasonable 
grounds  of  doubt  were  removed  by  the  discovery 
of  the  letters  of  Logan  of  Restalrig1  detailing  this 
curious  plot.  Indeed,  the  facts  by  themselves 
carry  their  own  evidence.  The  young  Gowries  had 
the  deepest  grounds  for  desiring  personal  revenge 
on  the  King,  and  would  probably  have  liked  to  see  a 
change  of  government,  but  their  ideas  were  crude 
and  fantastic  and  they  fell  in  their  own  snare. 
"  The  theory  that  the  whole  was  a  plot  of  the 
1  Still  preserved  iu  the  Register  House. 


xlviii  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

Court  to  ruin  the  powerful  house  of  Gowrie  must 
be  dismissed  as  beyond  the  range  of  sane  con 
clusions."  1  As  the  historian  remarks,  James  was 
the  last  man  in  the  world  to  render  himself — an 
unarmed  man — into  the  hands  of  his  armed  ad 
versaries  and  out  of  this  to  bring  himself  by  his 
own  courage  and  dexterity  to  an  end,  the  very 
opposite  of  what  was  expected.  But  how  an 
affair  so  perplexed  and  mysterious  in  itself  should 
also  have  afforded  occasion  for  a  final  misunder 
standing  between  Bruce  and  the  King,  for  Bruce's 
extrusion  from  his  Edinburgh  charge,  and  for  the 
commencement  of  an  entirely  new  chapter  in  his 
history,  viz.,  his  course  for  the  long  remainder  of  his 
days,  as  a  banished  and  outed  minister,  is  at  first 
sight  far  from  obvious.  Again  and  again  Bruce 
declared  that  he  believed  and  accepted  the  King's 
account  of  what  took  place  at  Perth,  the  more 
firmly  and  fully  as  years  went  on.  But  what  he 
could  not  submit  to  was  the  King's  demand  that 
he  should  "  preach  "  this,  in  its  entire  detail,  from 
the  pulpit.  To  bring  into  that  place  these  public 
and  political  affairs  was  a  flat  contradiction  of  the 
policy  of  non-interference  in  such  things,  which 
the  King  himself  had  been  so  keen  to  enforce. 
In  a  letter  to  the  King  (October  1600),  on  the 
eve  of  his  departure  from  the  country,  Bruce  says, 
"  I  offer  to  God  my  most  hearty  thanks  for  all 
your  Majesty's  deliverances,  from  the  cradle  to  this 
present  hour ;  but  mainly  for  that  deliverance 
which  He  granted  to  your  Majesty  in  St  Johnston 
1  Hill  Burton,  "History  of  Scotland,"  v.  336. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  xlix 

the  fifth  of  August,  far  above  all  our  deserts  and 
Your  Majesty's  expectations." 

It  becomes  plain,  at  length,  that  this  Gow: ie 
affair  was  used  by  the  acuteness  of  the  King  as  an 
occasion  to  accomplish  a  long  cherished  purpose. 
Perceiving  the  hold  he  had  on  Bruce,  through  a 
certain  punctilious  sense  of  honour,  lie  urged  it 
with  tireless  pertinacity,  as  a  mode  of  reducing  to 
silence  this  bold  preacher  ;  and  arresting  perman 
ently  the  opposition  which  he  continued  to  otter 
to  the  King's  ecclesiastical  designs.  He  first  passed 
sentence  upon  him  of  banishment  to  France,  which 
was  carried  out  by  his  departure  for  Dieppe,  Nov. 
2nd,  ItiOO.  He  was  recalled  to  his  own  country, 
through  the  intercession  of  Lord  Mar,  the  next 
year.  But  instead  of  being  set  at  liberty,  or  re 
stored  to  Edinburgh,  he  was  commanded  to  keep 
ward  in  his  own  house  at  Kinnaird,  and  was  after 
wards  tossed  up  and  down  the  country  for  a  long 
succession  of  years.  We  begin  to  perceive  that 
this  was  part  of  a  general  policy,  relentlessly  pur 
sued  by  James,  towards  all  the  main  opponents  of 
his  Church  Schemes.  Welch  of  Ayr  was  banished 
to  France  in  160G.  Andrew  Melville,  the  next 
year,  was  thrown  into  the  Tower,  and  four  years 
later  was  exiled  to  the  same  country.  The  quieter 
and  more  subtle  mode  of  deprivation  was  antici 
pated  upon  Bruce,  as  one  who  had  higher  con 
nections  and  interests  in  his  own  country. 

But  the  truth  is,  as  M'Crie  says,1  "  from  the 
moment  that  Bruce  was  removed  from  Edinburgh, 
1  "  Life  of  Andrew  Melville,"  p.  229  (Ediu.,  1856). 


1  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

it  was  determined  that  he  should  never  be  allowed 
to  return.  He  was  tantalised  for  years  with  hopes 
of  being  restored  to  his  place.  The  terms  pro 
posed  to  him  were  either  such  as  it  was  known 
he  would  reject,  or  they  were  evaded  and  with 
drawn  when  he  was  ready  to  accede  to  them. 
And  he  was  afterwards  persecuted  till  his  death 
by  the  mean  jealousy  of  the  bishops,  who  set  spies 
on  his  conduct,  sent  information  to  court  against 
him,  and  procured  orders  to  change  the  place 
of  his  confinement  from  time  to  time  and  to 
drag  him  from  one  corner  of  the  kingdom  to  an 
other.  The  whole  treatment  which  this  inde 
pendent  minister  received  was  disgraceful  to  the 
government.  Granting  that  he  gave  way  to 
scrupulosity,  that  he  required  a  degree  of  evi 
dence  as  to  the  guilt  of  Gowrie.  which  was  not 
necessary  to  justify  the  part  he  was  required  to 
take  in  announcing  it,  that  there  was  a  mixture 
of  pride  in  his  motives,  and  that  he  stood  too 
much  on  the  point  of  honour  (conclusions  that 
some  will  not  be  disposed  to  make),  still  the  nice 
and  high  sense  of  integrity  which  he  uniformly 
displayed,  his  great  talents,  and  the  eminent  ser 
vices  which  he  had  rendered  to  Church  and  State, 
not  to  speak  of  his  birth  and  connections,  ought 
to  have  secured  him  very  different  treatment.  But 
the  Court  hated  him  for  his  fidelity  and  dreaded 
his  influence  in  counteracting  its  favourite  plans." 

The  second  part  of  Bruce's  career  is  worthy  of 
some  remembrance  and  record.    During  the  earlier 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH  H 

years  of  this  dreary  period  the  King  allowed  him 
a  great  many  personal  interviews  and  conferences. 
Indeed  lie  rather  seemed  to  court  his  concessions, 
and  professed  to  allow  his  return  to  his  pulpit 
upon  conditions.  One  of  these  conferences  took 
place  at  Craigmillar  (Jan.  1602).  There,  answer 
ing  a  written  question  of  the  King's,  he  said  :  "  As 
to  preaching,  1  never  as  yet  had  a  calling  of  God  to 
any  place  of  that  kind  save  to  Edinburgh.  Place 
me  there,  where  God  placed  me,  and  I  shall  teach 
as  faithful  and  wholesome  doctrine  to  the  honour 
of  the  magistrates  as  God  shall  give  me  grace. 
But  to  go  through  the  country,  and  make  pro 
clamations  here  and  there,  it  will  be  counted 
either  a  beastly  fear  or  a  beastly  flattery,  and 
in  so  doing  I  should  not  remove  doubts  neither, 
but  raise  greater,  do  no  good  to  the  cause  but 
great  harm  ;  for  people  look  not  to  words  but 
grounds."  What  influence  this  answer  had  upon 
the  King,  or  whether  it  was  ever  presented  by  the 
commissioners,  is  not  signified  to  us.  But  the 
King  and  the  commissioners  would  willingly  have 
had  Bruce  come  greater  lengths  than  he  had  free 
dom  to  come  ;  therefore  the  King  took  unusual 
pains  with  him.  Not  that  ever  he  designed  to 
permit  him  to  return  to  his  charge. 

At  a  second  conference  at  Brechin  (April  1602) 
Bruce  s:iid  "  he  had  offered  to  subscribe  his  resolu 
tion  which  was  a  more  lasting  and  constant  testi 
mony  than  any  had  yet  given."  At  a  third  meeting 
in  Perth  (June  1602)  they  got  nearer  than  at 
any  other  time  to  the  original  matter  of  con- 


Hi  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

troversy.  "  I  give  you  leave  to  pose  me/'  said 
the  King,  "  upon  the  particulars."  "  Then  first," 
said  Bruce,  "  if  it  please  Your  Majesty,  had  you  a 
purpose  to  slay  my  Lord  ?  "  "  As  I  shall  answer 
to  God,"  said  the  King,  "  I  knew  not  that  my 
Lord  was  slain,  till  I  saw  him  in  his  last  agony, 
and  I  was  very  sorry,  yea,  prayed  from  my  heart 
for  him."  "  What  say  you  then  of  Mr  Alexander, 
sir  ? "  said  Bruce.  "  I  grant,"  said  the  King,  "  I 
am  art  and  part  in  Mr  Alexander's  slaughter,  for 
it  was  in  my  own  defence."  "  Why  brought  you 
him  not  to  justice,"  said  the  other,  "  seeing  you 
should  have  had  God  before  your  eyes  ? "  "  I 
had  neither  God  nor  the  devil,  man  !  before 
my  eyes,"  answered  the  King,  in  some  froth, 
"  but  my  own  defence.  ..."  Further  Bruce 
asked  His  Majesty,  "  If  he  had  a  purpose  that 
day  in  the  morning  to  slay  Mr  Alexander."  The 
King  answered,  on  his  salvation,  "  That  day, 
in  the  morning,  he  loved  him  as  his  brother." 
"  Mr  Robert  signified  that  he  was  persuaded  by 
the  King's  oaths  that  he  was  innocent  of  any  pur 
pose  to  slay  them  in  the  morning ;  but  since  he 
confessed  he  had  not  God,  nor  justice  before  his 
eyes,  was  in  a  heat,  and  a  mind  of  revenge,  he 
could  not  be  altogether  innocent  before  God,  and 
had  great  cause  to  repent  and  crave  mercy  for 
Christ's  sake."  Bruce  signed  this  resolution  at 
Perth  20th  June  1602:  "  I  am  resolved  of  His 
Majesty's  innocency  and  of  the  guiltiness  of  the 
Earl  of  Gowrie  and  his  brother,  according  as  it  is 
declared  by  Act  of  Parliament ;  and  therefore 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  liii 

acknowledge  the  great  mercy  of  God  towards  His 
Majesty,  and  to  the  whole  kirk  and  country  in  His 
Majesty's  deliverance."  All  the  commissioners 
subscribed  as  witnesses,  and  the  King  granted 
him  a  warrant  to  travel  where  he  pleased — save 
to  Edinburgh  and  four  miles  about  it. 

The  religious  people  of  Edinburgh  without 
exception  were  longing  to  have  Bruce  back  to 
the  town.  In  November  1G02  two  commis 
sioners  were  sent  to  the  Assembly  at  Holyrood 
House  to  desire  the  return  of  their  minister.  The 
Assembly  received  the  proposal  with  applause  ; 
but  the  King  and  the  moderator  alleged  they  had 
sundry  things  to  propound  before  that  could  be 
granted.  After  this  Assembly  the  King  sends  for 
Bruce  to  the  Sciennes.  Upon  the  last  of  Novem 
ber,  his  own  cousin,  Beltrees,  writes  to  him  that  he 
might  preach  next  Sabbath,  if  he  came  up  to  the 
King's  terms,  removed  all  scruples  from  the  people, 
and  cleared  His  Majesty's  innocence.  Bruce,  find 
ing  that  only  preaching  in  their  terms  would  please 
the  King  and  his  commissioners,  resolved  to  retire, 
and  returned  to  his  own  house.  It  was  given  out 
that  he  had  deserted  his  kirk,  which  he  had  full 
liberty  to  enter.  Upon  30th  December,  the  same 
year,  Mr  Hall  and  some  people  of  Edinburgh  came 
to  his  house  to  inquire  of  him,  "  why  he  entered  not 
his  calling."  Bruce  declared  liberty  was  not  granted 
him.  Early  the  next  year  (1G03)  the  King  at  a 
meeting  of  commissioners  desired  them  to  depose 
Bruce  for  disobedience.  They  answered  that  they 
"  had  no  power  to  depose  him."  "  Could  they  not 


Hv  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

remove  him  and  declare  his  place  vacant  ? "  This 
they  said  they  could  do,  but  the  matter  was  put 
off,  and  other  important  events  intervened.  Calder- 
\vood  tells  us  that  Brace's  meditation  during  this 
time  was  "  That  if  it  were  the  Lord's  good  pleasure 
to  exercise  him  with  a  new  temptation,  and  pull 
the  people  and  ministry  from  him,  that  it  would 
please  God,  instead  of  prince,  priest,  or  people's 
favours,  to  triple  His  Spirit  upon  him,  and  let  him 
see  in  his  heart  His  face  brighter  and  brighter — 
a  threefold  measure  of  His  favour,  to  supply  his 
outward  wants." 

One  glimpse  of  mutual  personal  amenities  is 
permitted  us  upon  the  occasion  of  the  King's 
leaving  Scotland  to  take  possession  of  the  English 
throne.  Queen  Elizabeth  died  on  the  24th  of 
March  1603.  On  Sabbath,  April  3rd,  James 
took  farewell  of  his  people  at  the  public  service  in 
St  Giles,  and  on  the  5th  April  set  out  on  his 
month's  triumphant  journey  to  the  English  Court. 
On  the  morning  of  his  departure  Bruce  was  taken 
into  the  King's  bed-chamber.  With  reverence  he 
approached  him,  and  said,  "  Sir,  I  have  marked 
four  things  in  this  great  work  of  your  Majesty's 
advancement  ;  first,  that  God  has  placed  you  on 
three  earthly  thrones,  without  loss  of  credit  to 
your  holy  religion,  or  of  peace  to  your  conscience  ; 
next,  without  shedding  a  drop  of  your  blood  ; 
without  any  loss  to  the  person  of  Your  Majesty's 
subjects,  and  last  of  all,  with  the  approval  of 
that  noble  Queen  and  the  affections  of  the  whole 
council  of  England.  This  craves  a  twofold  duty 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  lv 

of  Your  Majesty,  viz.,  that  the  glory  and  glare  of 
these  earthly  things  deceive  you  not ;  and  that 
you  extend  Your  Majesty's  credit,  and  employ 
your  whole  care  for  the  preservation  of  His  own 
Kingdom."  The  King  answered,  "  Mr  Robert,  by 
God's  grace  I  shall  not  place  my  comfort  or 
consolation  in  them,  or  in  any  earthly  thing.  As 
for  the  preservation  of  His  Kingdom,  if  I  would 
preserve  my  own  life,  I  must  study  to  preserve 
that."  So  Bruce  took  his  leave  and  had  as  good 
a  countenance  of  the  King  as  ever  he  hail  in  his 
life.  And  after  the  King  had  mounted  his  horse 
Bruce  went  to  him  again  and  was  as  well  received 
as  any  subject  of  his  rank  in  Scotland.  The 
King's  last  words  were  (though  Bruce  says  he  did 
not  hear  them) :  "  Now  all  particulars  are  passed 
between  me  and  you." 

After  the  King's  departure,  Bruce  had  quiet 
ness  and  rest  for  about  a  year.  But  thereafter 
troubles  of  a  new  kind  began  to  gather  round 
him,  fostered  no  doubt  by  the  favourers  of  the 
new  schemes  of  Church-government  in  Scotland. 
Since  it  was  now  perceived  to  be  hopeless  to 
win  him  over  to  these  schemes,  he  was  marked 
as  one  of  their  most  influential  opponents,  and 
measures  were  taken  to  allow  him  no  more 
liberty  of  preaching,  at  least  in  the  central  parts 
of  the  country.  In  February  1G05  the  com 
missioners  of  the  General  Assembly  summoned 
him  to  appear  to  "  see  and  hear  "  himself  removed 
from  his  function  in  Edinburgh.  He  compeared 
in  the  company  of  a  friend.  Only  himself  got 


Ivi  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

access.  After  long  reasoning  they  removed  him. 
He  appealed  from  their  sentence.  They  further 
inhibited  him  from  preaching,  but  he  took  no 
notice  of  that  part  of  the  sentence.  In  the 
month  of  July  the  same  year,  Chancellor  Seton 
sent  for  him  to  intimate  that  he  had  got  a 
command  from  the  King  to  discharge  him  from 
teaching.  "  He  would  not,"  he  said,  "  go  further 
at  the  time  than  request  him  to  desist  preaching 
for  nine  or  ten  days  that  he  might  get  further 
instructions  from  the  Court."  Bruce  considered 
this  a  requisition  so  trivial  that  he  agreed  to 
comply  with  it.  But  that  night  in  his  sleep 
his  conscience  awoke,  "  How  durst  you  make 
such  a  promise  ? "  He  confessed  his  fault  and 
craved  for  mercy.  But  his  trouble  so  increased 
as  to  cast  his  body  into  a  fever  and  sickness. 
Yet  in  the  morning  it  pleased  God  to  relieve  him 
and  he  resolved  not  to  obey  that  injunction. 
As  soon  as  he  went  home,  he  preached  in  the 
Woodside,  and  in  the  presence  of  Lord  Elphin- 
stone  and  his  lady  in  the  garden  where  they  were 
secluded  with  the  pestilence.  The  next  month  he 
was  charged  to  "  ward "  in  Inverness  within  ten 
days ;  and  so  began  that  course  of  banishment 
and  wandering  which  he  had  to  pursue  for  a  great 
portion  of  his  remaining  years. 

The  allegations  made  in  support  of  this 
sentence  were,  "  his  apprehending  a  most 
sinister  distrust  of  the  King's  sincerity  in  the 
treason  of  Gowrie,  his  uttering  his  distrust  in 
public  and  private  meetings  ;  his  entertaining  a 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH  Ivii 

frequent  resort  of  the  ministry  and  people,  and 
meddling  with  the  affairs  of  the  King  and  of  the 
State;  censuring  the  doings  of  ministers  and  there 
by  fostering  factions  and  divisions  in  the  Kirk, 
grudges  and  mi  scon  tents  against  the  present 
government."  The  real  cause  of  quarrel  was 
of  course  behind  all  these. 

His  banishment  to  Inverness  began  on  27th 
August  1605,  when  he  took  instruments  of  his 
entry.  He  is  said  to  have  remained  there  four 
years.1  But,  in  point  of  fact,  he  continued  for 
the  most  part  there  for  eight  years,  till  1613. 
There  he  preached  every  Lord's  Day  forenoon  and 
every  Wednesday  ;  read  and  exhorted  at  prayers 
every  evening.  He  had  great  success  in  that 
ministerial  work.  Many  were  converted  and 
multitudes  edified.  All  this  work  was  carried  on 
amid  manifold  annoyance  and  opposition.  He 
was  very  hardly  used  by  the  magistrates,  who 
made  him  as  uneasy  as  they  possibly  could.  The 
minister  of  the  town  also  contended  much  with 
him,  and  every  year  was  bringing  him  into  new 
troubles ;  indeed  he  was  in  hazard  of  his  life 
by  the  malice  some  people  bore  against  him. 
One  day  he  was  going  through  Fisher  Street 
with  two  friends ;  some  villains  shot  a  gun  at 
him,  and  the  ball  missed  him  by  a  few  inches. 
The  offender  was  afterwards  found  to  be  the  old 
Lady  Sutherland's  officer's  son.  Being  most  un- 

1  Calderwood  says  that  Bruce  entered  Inverness  and  took  in 
struments  of  his  entry,  27th  August  1605,  "where  he  remained 
four  years,"  yet  he  is  still  writing  from  Inverness,  February  1613. 

e 


Iviii  BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH 

easy  there,  at  the  desire  of  the  magistrates  of 
Aberdeen  Bruce  came  to  that  town,  venturing 
upon  an  old  licence.  But  complaints  being  made 
against  his  preaching  there,  after  he  had  stayed 
about  a  quarter  of  a  year  at  Aberdeen  he  was 
charged  to  return  to  Inverness,  where  he  continued 
till  the  beginning  of  the  year  1613.1 

In  reference  to  this  migration  we  have  a  letter 
of  Bruce  to  the  King,  declaring  that  if  there  had 
been  a  "  prescription  or  limitation  of  time,"  he 
had  failed  in  passing  the  bounds  of  it ;  that  "  he 
went  not  without  sanction  of  the  bishops  " ;  and 
asking  that  "  his  repairing  to  Aberdeen  for  his 
better  health,  and  for  the  comfort  of  his  wife 
and  children,  might  stand  with  his  majesty's 
favour."  In  that  year  he  supplied  the  pulpit 
at  Forres  for  some  months  upon  the  death  of 
Mr  John  Strachan  the  minister.  Any  occasion 
to  remove  from  Inverness  was  welcome  to  him. 
After  his  son's  intercession  at  Court,  he  obtained 
licence  to  come  and  live  at  his  own  house  at 
Kinnaird ;  and  preached  there  and  in  that 
neighbourhood  for  three  years  following  (1613- 
1616).  The  explanation  of  the  discrepancy  of 
dates  is  due  to  the  manner  in  which  the  outed 
ministers  were  treated  by  the  authorities.  The 
case  of  Bruce  was  only  one  of  many.  Delay  and 
procrastination  were  constantly  practised  upon 
them.  We  read  in  this  same  year  (1613)  a  letter 
of  Bruce  to  Sir  James  Semple,  remonstrating 
with  him  that  no  notice  of  the  King's  pleasure 

1  Wodrow,  "  Collections  as  to  the  Life  of  Bruce,"  p.  125. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  lix 

had  been  sent  him.  A  proclamation  of  relief 
to  banished  ministers  was  made  at  the  Cross  of 
Edinburgh  ;  but  George  Johnstone,  minister  of 
Ancrum,  and  David  Caldcrwood,  minister  of 
Crailing,  got  no  notice  of  it  for  a  long  lime 
afterwards.  Mr  Andrew  Duncan,  minister  of 
Crail,  suffered  eight  years'  exile  for  attending 
the  Assembly  of  Aberdeen,  and  only  obtained 
liberty,  upon  a  special  petition,  to  return  to  his 
native  country.  This  kind  of  petty  persecution 
lasted  through  the  years  of  Brucc's  banishment, 
In  a  General  Assembly  called  to  meet  at  Edin 
burgh,  July  1GOG,  "supplication  was  made  for  the 
banished  brethren  confined  in  the  Highlands,  for 
Mr  Robert  Bruce,  and  for  those  detained  in 
London."  The  nobility,  at  request  of  the  Assem 
bly,  wrote  to  his  majesty  in  favour  of  Bruce.  At 
a  subsequent  Assembly,  1GOS,  a  motion  was 
made  to  grant  Melville,  Bruce,  Murray,  and  Row 
— banished  and  confined  ministers — their  wonted 
liberty.  No  notice  appears  to  have  been  taken 
of  these  requests  or  motions. 

At  length  there  came  a  respite  which  in  Brucc's 
case  lasted  for  about  eight  or  nine  years,  1G1.°>- 
1G22.  He  was  nominally  confined  to  his  house 
at  Kinnaird  ;  but  in  reality  his  activity  was  very 
considerable.  Indeed  his  enemies  complained  of 
this  very  thing.  He  supplied  the  pulpit  at 
Stirling  during  a  vacancy.  He  preached  often 
at  communions  and  with  brethren  of  his  acquaint 
ance.  He  was  therefore  traduced  for  behaving 
himself  like  a  "  general  bishop,"  and  going  from 


Ix  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

place   to   place.       For    this    his    adversaries    had 
themselves  to  thank. 

In  this  period  occurred  the  incident  which 
connects  him — a  leader  in  the  First  Reformation 
— with  Alexander  Henderson,  the  leader  of  the 
Second  Reformation  and  (years  afterwards)  the 
Moderator  of  the  famous  Assembly  of  1638. 
At  the  beginning  of  his  ministry — which  was 
probably  about  1615 — Henderson  belonged  to 
the  prevailing  party  in  the  Church.  He  was 
brought  into  his  first  charge  at  Leuchars  by 
Glad stan es,  the  bishop  of  St  Andrews,  against 
the  consent  of  the  parish  ;  so  that  upon  the 
day  appointed  for  his  admission,  the  people 
shut  the  church  doors  and  his  friends  were 
obliged  to  break  up  a  window  and  procure 
him  entrance  that  way.  A  little  after  his 
settlement,  having  heard  that  Bruce  was  to 
be  at  a  communion  some  distance  from  Leuchars 
and  being  very  desirous  to  hear  him  preach, 
Henderson  went  to  the  place,  where  few  knew 
him,  and  concealed  himself  in  a  dark  corner  of 
the  church.  Bruce  came  into  the  pulpit,  and 
after  a  pause,  according  to  his  usual  manner, 
which  fixed  Henderson's  attention,  he  read  with 
his  wonted  dignity  and  deliberation  these  words 
as  his  text :  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you, 
he  that  entereth  not  by  the  door  into  the  sheep- 
fold,  but  climbeth  up  some  other  way,  the  same 
is  a  thief  and  a  robber."  These  words  so  literally 
applicable  to  the  manner  in  which  he  had  entered 
on  his  ministry  went  (<  like  drawn  swords "  to 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  l*i 

his  inmost  soul.  He  who  wished  to  conceal 
himself  from  the  eyes  of  men,  felt  that  he 
was  naked  and  opened  before  the  eyes  of  Him 
with  whom  we  have  to  do.  In  short,  this 
powerful  preacher  was  by  the  divine  blessing 
the  means  of  Henderson's  conversion.  Ever 
after  he  retained  a  great  affection  for  Bruce, 
whom  he  called  his  spiritual  father.1  Why  wr 
date  this  incident  so  early,  is  that  Henderson  is 
known  to  have  been  a  member  of  the  Perth 
Assembly  of  1C  18,  and  to  have  then  voted 
against  the  so-called  Perth  Articles.  All  which 
is  a  presumption  that,  by  that  date,  his  views 
on  the  great  question  in  the  Church  had  under 
gone  a  change. 

The  later  years  of  Bruce's  ministry,  which  we 
have  now  reached,  undoubtedly  place  him  in  an 
intenser  light.  In  the  regard  of  the  religious 
people  of  Scotland  he  was  held  in  a  manner 
"sainted."  it  may  indeed  be  said  that  his 
chequered  mode  of  life,  his  moving  about  from 
place  to  place,  without  any  settled  charge,  pre 
vented  him  from  leaving  on  his  country  so  deep 
a  mark  as  his  character  and  faculties  were  fitted 
to  make.  But  the  same  facts  have  another  side. 
The  bitter  trials  which  marked  the  last  half  of 
his  life  commended  him  all  the  more  to  the 
esteem  of  the  like-minded.  He  was  much  con 
sulted  by  those  with  whom  he  agreed  on  the 
policy  of  the  Church.  He  was  greatly  trusted 
in  regard  to  things  still  more  deeply  spiritual. 
1  M'Crie,  "Story  of  the  Scottish  Church,"  p.  152. 


Ixii  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

He  was  much  visited  for  purposes  of  consultation 
at  his  own  house  and  elsewhere,  and  this  went 
on  until  it  attracted  the  notice  and  provoked  the 
sneers  of  the  King.  So  late  as  March  1622  the 
Council  took  it  upon  them  to  ask  permission  that 
he  be  allowed  to  remain  at  his  own  house  till 
the  winter  season  should  be  over  —  considering 
his  age  and  infirmity — before  he  should  be  ban 
ished,  a  second  time,  to  Inverness.  The  King 
replied,  blaming  them  for  the  delay,  alleging  that 
it  was  not  for  love  of  Bruce,  "  but  to  keep  up 
a  schism  in  the  Kirk,  and  that  lie  (the  King)  would 
not  allow  any  more  Popish  pilgrimages  to 
Kinnaird." 

Some  further  persecutions  were  practised  upon 
him  just  before  his  second  exile.  In  March  1619 
he  had  been  charged  by  the  ministers  of  Edin 
burgh  with  preaching  against  them  at  Cramond 
when  preaching  upon  false  apostles.  The  Council 
commanded  him  to  remove  out  of  Stirling,  and 
confined  him  to  his  own  house  at  Kinnaird  and 
a  mile  round  it.  In  a  little  time  he  procured 
a  warrant  from  the  Council  to  remove  to  another 
house  of  his,  at  Monkland,  not  far  from  Glasgow. 
There  he  taught  in  the  parish  kirk  for  some  time, 
till  Bishop  Law,  grieved  at  the  great  resort  of 
people  to  hear  him,  sent  Mr  Patrick  Walkingshaw 
to  signify  to  him  that  he  must  keep  his  own 
house,  otherwise  he  would  pass  sentence  of  de 
privation  on  him.  It  was  one  of  the  articles  of 
the  bishop's  complaint  against  him  that  he  kept 
private  fasts  in  his  house  at  Monkland.  There 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKHTCH  Ixiii 

were  only  two  such,  where  Mr  Robert  Boyd  of 
Trochrig,  Principal  of  Glasgow  University,  and 
Robert  Scott,  minister  of  the  parish,  were  present ; 
and  the  whole  number  of  persons  did  not  exceed 
twenty.  In  a  little  while  he  was  obliged  to  leave 
his  house.  The  bishop  had  tabled  complaints 
against  him  in  London,  that  he  kept  private 
fasts  in  his  own  house  ;  that  when  at  communions 
he  did  not  observe  the  Articles  of  Perth,  but  dis 
pensed  the  sacrament  in  conformity  with  the  prac 
tice  of  the  Reformed  Kirk.  A  letter  from  the 
King  was  read  in  Council,  Oct.  2f>th,  1G20,  requir 
ing  him  to  be  cited  before  them  and  tried,  and 
commanding  them  to  ward  him  in  Aberdeen  if  he 
did  not  obey  the  Acts  of  the  Perth  Assembly. 
When  the  letter  was  read  Chancellor  Scton  said, 
"  It  was  not  their  province  now  to  judge  of  Kirk 
arVairs  !  The  bishops  have  a  High  Commission  of 
their  own  to  try  these'  things."  Secretary  Hamil 
ton  asked  him  if  he  would  reason  whether  his 
majesty  must  be  obeyed  or  not  ?  The  Chancellor 
answered,  he  thought  "  they  might  reason  whether 
they  would  be  the  bishops'  hangmen  or  not."  So 
the  Council  referred  the  business  to  the  bishops. 

The  death  of  Bruce's  wife,  following  soon  after 
this,  he  was  spared  for  a  little  time. 

The  next  year  (1621)  Parliament  confirmed 
the  Articles  of  Perth,  and  no  little  suffering 
followed  to  several  ministers — Bruce  could  not 
miss  his  share.  On  the  29th  of  August  a  letter 
came  from  the  King  to  the  Council  requiring  them 
to  cite  Bruce  before  them  for  breaking  the  bounds 


Ixiv  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

of  his  confinement  and  coming  to  Edinburgh  the 
time  of  the  last  parliament  to  move  sedition.  On 
17th  Sept.  1621  he  compeared,  and  denied  the 
seditious  charge  libelled  against  him.  He  com 
plained,  "  though  he  had  his  majesty's  own  letters 
wherein  he  declared  himself  so  much  obliged  to 
him  for  his  services,  that  he  thought  the  quarter 
of  Scotland  too  little  to  give  him  for  a  recom 
pense  ;  now,  at  the  instigation  of  the  bishops,  he 
was  exhausted  in  his  living,  estate,  and  person  ; 
and  nothing  almost  was  left  to  him  but  his  vital 
spirit  and  breath,  which  were  apparently  now 
sought.  The  King  was  not  readier  to  seek  these 
than  he  was  to  reader  them,  and,  providing  his 
innocence  were  tried,  he  was  ready  to  suffer." 
The  Chancellor  passed  from  the  contempt  and 
sedition  in  the  libel,  but  insisted  on  his  breach 
of  confinement.  Bruce  desired  his  accuser  and 
witnesses  to  be  brought,  and  complained  that 
no  forms  of  law  were  kept  with  him.  The 
Chancellor  again  requested  him  to  answer  whether 
he  had  broken  his  confinement.  Bruce  said,  "  My 
Lord,  if  you  will  pose  me  as  a  friend,  not  as  a 
judge,  I  will  answer  truly.  I  went  out  of  my 
confine,  but  driven  to  it  by  necessity.  Since  my 
wife's  death  I  have  had  none  to  act  for  me.  I 
wrote  to  the  Secretary  for  a  licence  to  come  to 
Edinburgh,  but  had  no  answer.  I  had  a  matter 
of  20,000  merks  in  dependence,  which  needed  my 
personal  attendance.  I  came  in  very  secretly.  At 
the  last  parliament  where  his  majesty  was  I  was 
at  Edinburgh  much  more  openly,  yet  it  was  never 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  Ixv 

imputed  to  me."  The  Chancellor  confessed  that 
if  he  had  written  to  him  for  a  licence  to  come,  he 
could  not  have  refused.  Bruce  was  called  in  again, 
and  a  warrant  delivered  to  him  to  ward  his  person 
in  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh.  The  bishops,  though 
they  were  his  accusers,  absented  themselves  from 
the  Council  that  day.  He  was  detained  in  the 
Castle  till  January  of  the  succeeding  year. 

He  was  then  dismissed  to  his  own  house  to 
remain  till  the  12th  April  1C 22,  after  which  he 
was  to  transport  himself  to  Inverness  and  there 
remain  during  His  Majesty's  pleasure.  Inter 
cession  was  made  for  him  by  the  Council,  as 
we  have  seen,  but  without  effect.  He  himself 
wrote  a  humble  petition  to  the  Lords  of  Privy 
Council,  desiring  that  at  his  age  he  should  be 
spared  such  a  journey,  and  offering  to  spend  the 
remainder  of  his  days  at  his  own  house.  This 
petition  was  equally  in  vain. 

On  April  18,  1622,  he  set  out  a  second  time  to 
Inverness.  It  is  probable  that  to  this  occasion 
belongs  the  incident  related  by  one  of  his  suc 
cessors  at  Larbert,  well  vouched  for  and  believed 
in  the  place.  A  considerable  number  of  gentle 
men,  relations  and  acquaintances,  some  of  them 
ministers,  came  to  take  leave  of  him,  and  some  to 
accompany  him  part  of  the  way.  When  the 
horses  were  all  drawn  up  and  he  had  taken  his 
leave  of  them,  and  the  whole  company  were 
mounting,  his  horse  was  brought  out  last.  Just 
as  he  was  setting  his  foot  in  the  stirrup  he  stopped 
and  stood,  with  his  eyes  fixed  towards  heaven,  for 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH 

nearly  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  The  rest,  mounting 
or  mounted,  rode  softly  on.  None  of  the 
company  apparently  observed  the  incident ;  but 
an  intimate  friend  of  his  seeing  him  in  that 
posture,  stopped  his  horse  and  waited  till  Bruce 
joined  him,  which  he  did  very  cheerfully  and 
they  soon  overtook  the  company.  His  friend 
took  the  freedom  to  ask  him  what  he  was 
doing  when  he  seemed  to  be  in  a  muse  before 
taking  horse.  Bruce  said  he  was  receiving  his 
commission  and  charge  from  his  Master  to  go 
to  Inverness.  "And  He  gave  it  me  Himself 
before  I  set  foot  in  the  stirrup.  I  go  to  sow  a 
seed  in  Inverness  that  shall  not  be  rooted  out 
for  many  ages." 

The  outward  circumstances  of  this  second  exile 
appear  to  have  been  almost  as  uncomfortable  as 
the  former  one  had  been.  He  was  so  hardly  used 
that  he  was  forced  to  remove  out  of  the  place. 
He  could  not  get  convenient  lodging,  or  at  least 
keep  it  long.  "The  Lord  Enzie  vexed  him  with 
reproachful  speeches  against  the  ministers,  and 
pretended  to  find  treason  in  his  doctrine.  Mr 
John  Gordon,  minister  at  Strachan,  stirred  up  this 
enemy  against  him,  applying  to  himself  something 
which  Bruce  had  said  in  his  preaching.  Such  was 
the  opposition  at  Inverness  that  he  was  forced  to 
remove  to  Chanonry,  now  called  Fortrose,  but  the 
religious  people  at  Inverness  prevailed  with  him  to 
return.  When  Lord  Enzie  went  to  Edinburgh  he 
had  peace  and  rest,  but  when  he  came  home  again, 
the  battle  was  renewed.  At  last,  a  fashion  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  Ixvii 

reconciliation  was  made  by  Lord  Lovat's  means."  ] 
Very  different  was  the  estimate  formed  of  the 
results  of  this  Inverness  ministry,  by  those  who 
could  look  back  upon  the  past.  Some  of  Bruce's 
converts  were  alive  in  lb'.S4,  when  Mr  Angus 
M'Bain,  Episcopal  minister  at  Inverness,  had  his 
mind  enlightened  and  publicly  owned  himself 
sorry  for  his  conformity,  and  testified  to  the 
singular  effects  of  the  martyr's  ministry.  In  the 
diary  of  John  Brand,  minister  of  Bo'ness  (June 
1700)  we  read  :  "  The  memory  of  that  man  of 
God,  Mr  Robert  Bruce,  is  sweet  to  this  day  in 
this  place.  In  the  days  of  King  James  he  was 
confined  in  this  town,  where  the  Lord  blessed  his 
labours  to  the  conversion  of  many  brethren  in  the 
town  and  country  round  about,  for  multitudes 
of  all  ranks  would  have  crossed  ferries  every  day 
to  hear  him.  They  came  both  from  Ross  and 
Sutherland."  A  contemporary  testimony  is  that 
of  Robert  Blair,  afterwards  minister  of  St  Andrew's. 
In  lu'2'J  he  writes  :  "  I  intended  a  journey  to  the 
North  to  visit  the  faithful  servants  of  Christ  who 
were  confined  there  by  the  Prelatic  High  Com 
mission.  I  found  very  sweet  passages  of  Divine 
Providence  all  the  time  from  day  to  day  ;  my 
spirit  was  much  refreshed  observing  the  Lord's 
guidance ;  and  when  I  arrived  at  the  sufferers 
their  company  and  conference  was  to  me  admirably 
refreshful,  especially  at  Turriff,  where  Mr  David 
Dicksou  was  confined,  and  at  Inverness  where  Mr 
Robert  Bruce  was  now  a  second  time  confined. 
1  Culilenvood,  vii.  566. 


Ixviii  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

That  ancient  heroic  servant  of  Christ,  considering 
how  long  a  journey  I  had  made  from  Glasgow  to 
visit  him — being  estimated  at  one  hundred  and 
forty  miles — did  impart  to  me  the  memorable 
passages  of  his  life  from  a  large  book,  wherein 
was  set  down  what  hard  and  sore  exercises  his 
soul  had  met  with,  both  before  his  entry  to  the 
ministry  at  Edinburgh  and  after,  ...  as  also  the 
strong  consolations  whereby  the  Lord  had  comforted 
him,  among  which  two  were  most  eminent,  whereby 
he  said,  the  Lord  had  strengthened  him  before  he 
fell  under  the  King's  displeasure.  Also  therein 
were  contained  choice  letters  either  written  to  him 
or  written  by  him."  l 

Bruce  continued  at  Inverness  till  September 
1624,  when  he  obtained  licence  to  come  south 
about  his  necessary  domestic  affairs.  The  con 
ditions  of  his  warrant  from  the  Council  were  so 
strait  that  he  was  resolved  to  return  North  again, 
but  he  got  his  time  prorogued  till  the  winter  was 
over.  In  March  1625  the  King  died,  the  severity 
against  him  was  mitigated,  and  he  was  not  urged 
to  return  to  confinement.  During  the  remainder 
of  his  life,  he  was  permitted  to  live  at  his  own 
house  of  Kinnaird.  The  parish  of  Larbert  having 
neither  stipend  nor  church  fit  to  preach  in,  he 
repaired  the  church  at  his  own  charges  and  ful 
filled  all  ministerial  duties  to  the  people.  Multi 
tudes  came  from  all  quarters  to  hear  him.  This 
pastorate  he  had  supplied  occasionally  for  many 
years  previous.  But  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that 

1  Blair's  Autobiography,  p.  39  (Wodrow). 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH 


with  all  his  many  preachings  throughout  Scotland, 
and  with  his  many  shorter  temporary  supplyings 
of  Forres,  Stirling,  Larbert  and  the  like,  he  never 
renounced  his  claim  upon  his  first  charge.  So 
late  as  the  beginning  of  the  year  1629  King 
Charles  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Council  ordaining 
Bruce  to  be  confined  to  his  own  house  of  Kinnaird 
and  two  miles  about  it.  It  was  thought  the 
ministers  of  Edinburgh  were  the  procurers  of  this 
letter,  because  he  had  preached  in  sundry  kirks 
near  to  the  city  and  desired  to  have  taught  in 
Edinburgh  itself.  "  For,"  said  he,  "  I  may  avow 
that  there  is  not  now  a  lawful  minister  of  Edin 
burgh  living  except  I  ;  for  they  have  all  entered  in 
a  corrupt  way  contrary  to  the  good  order  of  our 
kirk  ;  and  I  verily  think  that  these  ministers  are 
greater  enemies  to  the  gospel  of  Christ  than  the 
bishops  are." 

The  last  public  occasion  on  which  we  have  any 
notice  of  him  was  at  the  well-known  communion 
at  Kirk  of  Shotts  (1G30),  where  there  was  a 
great  gathering  of  Christians  from  all  parts  of 
Scotland.  He  bore  a  share  in  the  preaching 
"  with  his  wonted  majesty  and  authority,"  and 
joined  in  the  meetings  for  intercession  and  prayer, 
which  were  kept  in  that  place,  almost  day  and 
night,  for  four  or  five  days. 

Bruce  had  now  reached  an  advanced  age.  He 
longed  much  for  dissolution  before  it  came.  In 
1627,  according  to  Livingstone,  he  said,  "  I  wonder 
how  I  am  keeped  so  long  here  ;  I  have  now  lived 
two  years  in  violence,"  meaning  he  was  two  years 


Ixx  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

beyond  the  ordinary  time  of  man's  days — three 
score  and  ten.  He  had  no  pain  or  sickness 
almost  to  his  death — nothing  but  age  and  in 
firmity.  Some  of  his  last  sayings  have  become 
"  household  words "  among  the  religious  people 
of  our  country.  He  was  much  visited  in  these 
last  days  by  Christian  friends  and  brethren.  One 
of  them  asked  him  how  matters  stood  betwixt 
God  and  his  soul,  under  his  frailty  and  bodily 
decays.  "  When  1  was  a  young  man/'  said  he, 
"  I  was  diligent,  and  lived  by  faith  in  the  Son 
of  God  ;  but  now  I  am  old,  and  not  able  to  do 
so  much  ;  yet  He  condescends  to  feed  me  with 
lumps  of  sense."  The  last  scene  is  well-known 
and  truly  characteristic.  "  In  the  morning  he 
came  to  breakfast  at  his  table.  After  he  had 
eaten,  as  his  use  was,  a  single  egg,  he  said  to 
his  daughter,  '  I  think  I  am  yet  hungry ;  you 
may  bring  me  another  egg/  and  instantly  fell 
silent ;  and  after  having  mused  a  little  he  said, 
1  Hold,  daughter,  hold  ;  my  Master  calls  me/ 
With  these  words  his  sight  failed  him  ;  he  called 
for  the  Bible,  but  finding  he  was  not  able  to 
read,  '  Cast  me  up  the  eighth  chapter  of  Romans, 
thirty-eighth  verse/  much  of  which  he  repeated. 
'  For  I  am  persuaded  that  neither  life  nor  death 
shall  be  able  to  separate  me  from  the  Love  of 
God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord.'  '  Now/ 
said  he,  '  is  my  finger  upon  these  words  ? '  They 
told  him  it  was.  Then  he  said,  '  God  be  with 
you,  my  children,  I  have  breakfasted  with  }rou; 
and  shall  sup  with  my  Lord  Jesus  Christ  'his 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH  Ixxi 

night '  ;  and  straight  gave  up  the  ghost,  without 
one  groan  or  shiver.  Thus  this  great  champion 
for  the  truth,  and  the  crown  and  interest  of  his 
Master,  who  knew  not  what  it  was  to  be  afraid 
of  the  face  of  man,  was  taken  off  the  field  as 
more  than  a  conqueror,  and  had  an  abundant 
entrance  administered  to  him  into  the  everlasting 
kingdom  of  his  Lord  and  Saviour."  1  He  died 
27th  July  1G31,  and  was  buried  in  an  aisle  of 
the  kirk  of  Larbert,  built  by  himself.  He  was 
followed  to  the  grave  by  an  immense  multitude 
of  people  of  all  ranks  and  classes,  amounting  in 
number  to  four  or  five  thousand.  His  tombstone 
bears  the  inscription  : 

R.  H.,  1G.J1.     C/trixtu*  in  i'i(<i  ct  inortc  I  it  <' nun? 

The  person  of  Bruce  was  tall  and  dignified  ; 
his  countenance  majestic,  and  his  appearance  in 
the  pulpit  grave  and  expressive  of  much  authority. 
"Though  he  was  no  Boanerges  as  to  his  voice, 
being  of  a  slow  and  grave  delivery,  yet  he  spoke 

1   Wodiow,  l,r)G;   "  Scot's  Worthies,"  ]>.  150,  <•<!.  1S70. 

-  Bruce'a  posterity.  He  resigned  the  estate  of  Kinnaird  to 
his  son,  Robert  Bruce,  and  his  wife,  Margaret  Menteith,  IG'JS. 
He,  again,  resigned  it  to  his  eldest  son  Robert,  December  30th, 
1643.  This  son  died  of  wounds  received  at  the  battle  of  Wor 
cester,  1651.  His  brother  Alexander  succeeded  to  the  estate 
in  1655.  He  married  Margaret  Elphinstono  by  \vhom  he  had 
no  sons,  hut  two  daughters.  The  eldest  of  these  married 
David  Hay  of  Woodcockdale,  Linlithgowshire,  1687-  Their  son, 
David  Bruce,  was  the  father  of  James  Bruce — the  Abyssinian 
traveller,  who  repaired,  enlarged,  and  lived  in  Kinnaird.  There 
being  now  no  direct  male  descendant  the  property  has  changed 
hands. 


Ixxii  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

with  so  much  weight  that  some  of  the  most  stout 
hearted  of  his  hearers  were  ordinarily  made  to 
tremble.  .  .  .  Whilst  he  was  in  his  ministry  at 
Edinburgh  he  shone  as  a  great  light  throughout 
the  whole  land  ;  the  power  and  efficacy  of  the 
Spirit  accompanying  most  sensibly  the  word  he 
preached.  He  was  a  terror  to  evil-doers.  His 
carriage  was  with  such  majesty  of  countenance 
as  forced  fear  and  respect  from  the  highest  in 
the  land."  l  Those  who  have  given  us  any  account 
of  his  preaching  record  how  with  much  impres- 
siveness  he  carried  his  hearers  back  to  first  prin 
ciples.  When  he  came  up  to  the  pulpit,  after 
being  for  some  time  silent,  which  was  his  usual 
way,  he  would  say,  "  I  think  it  is  a  great  matter 
to  believe  that  there  is  a  God,"  telling  the  people 
that  it  was  another  thing  to  believe  than  they 
judged.  But  it  was  also  known  by  those  with 
whom  he  was  familiar,  what  extraordinary  con 
firmations  he  had  and  what  nearness  he  attained 
in  his  secret  converse  with  God.  Blair  says  the 
first  time  he  heard  him  preach,  the  fame  of  so 
great  a  man  caused  him  to  expect  something 
very  extraordinary  ;  "  but  his  whole  sermon  did 
press  the  truth  of  the  soul's  being  immortal,  and 
that  it  was  a  great  thing  to  believe  it.  Some 
what  surprised  why  he  dwelt  so  much  upon  so 
common  and  known  a  subject,  he  afterwards  found 
that  it  was  some  other  thing  than  appears  at  the 
first  look,  for  which  men  may  dispute,  and  toss  as 
a  notion  of  the  schools,  who  never  knew  what 

1  Fleming  "  Fulfilling  of  the  Scriptures." 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH          Ixxiii 

it  was  to  believe  the  truth  thereof  and  that  a  seri 
ous  impression  of  it  in  the  heart  is  something  else 
than  a  swimming  in  the  head  of  some  ordinary 
speculations."  *  John  Livingston,  who  was  his 
hearer  in  the  church  of  Larbert  for  a  great  part 
of  the  summer  of  1627,  says,  "No  man  in  his 
time  spake  with  such  evidence  and  power  of  the 
Spirit  ;  no  man  had  so  many  seals  of  conversion  ; 
yea,  many  of  his  hearers  thought  that  no  man 
since  the  apostles  spake  with  such  power.  He 
had  a  notable  faculty  in  searching  deep  in  the 
Scriptures,  and  of  making  the  most  dark  mysteries 
plain,  but  especially  in  dealing  with  every  one's 
conscience.  .  .  .  He  was  both  in  public  and  private 
very  short  in  prayer  with  others,  but  then  every 
sentence  was  like  a  strong  bolt  shot  up  to  heaven. 
I  have  heard  him  say  he  hath  wearied  when  others 
were  longsome  in  prayer,  but  being  alone,  he 
spent  much  time  in  prayer  and  wrestling.  .  .  . 
When  he  preached  at  Larbert,  he  used  after  the 
first  sermon  on  the  Sabbath,  when  he  had  taken 
some  little  refreshment,  to  retire  to  a  chamber 
in  a  house  near  the  kirk.  I  heard  one  day  that 
some  noblemen  being  there,  he  staying  long  in  the 
chamber,  and  they  having  far  to  ride  after  the 
afternoon's  services,  desired  the  bellman  to  go 
hearken  at  the  door  if  there  were  any  appearance 
of  his  coming.  The  bellman  returned  and  said, 
'  I  think  he  shall  not  come  out  the  day  at  all, 
for  I  hear  him  always  saying  to  another,  that  he 
will  not  nor  cannot  go  except  the  other  go  with 

1  Fleming,  "  Fulfilling  of  the  Scriptures. " 


Ixxiv  BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCH 

him,  and  I  hear  not  the  other  answer  him  a  word 
at  all."  The  foolish  bellman  understood  not  that 
he  was  dealing  with  God.  He  had  a  very  majestic 
countenance,  and  whatever  he  spake  in  public  or 
private,  yea,  when  he  read  the  Word,  I  thought 
it  had  such  a  force  as  I  never  discerned  in  any 
other  man."  1 

Andrew  Melville  described  him  as  "  a  hero 
adorned  with  every  virtue,  a  constant  confessor 
and  almost  martyr  to  the  Lord  Jesus."  Calder- 
wood  in  his  Preface  to  the  "  Altare  Damas- 
cenum "  says,  "  Robertus  Brucius  vir  genere  et 
virtute  nobilis,  rnaj  estate  vultus  venerabilis,  qui 
plura  animarum  millia  Christo  lucri  fecit,  cujus 
anima,  si  ullius  mortalium,  (absit  verbo  invidia), 
sedet  in  celestibus,  ex  ecclesia  Edinburgena  23 
ab  hinc  annis  extrusus,  et  in  hunc  usque  diem 
terris  jactatus  et  undis.  Anima  mea  cum  anima 
tua  Bruci,  si  ex  aliena  fide  esset  pendendum." 

No  life  of  Robert  Bruce  has  ever  been  written. 
Wodrow  has  left  us  "  Collections "  or  "  prepara 
tions  "  for  such  a  work  extracted  mainly  from 
Calderwood's  "  History  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland." 
Wodrow  further  professes  to  give  in  his  Appendix 
Bruce's  own  account  of  the  later  parts  of  his  life 
in  several  papers,  but  these  papers  are  not  to  be 
found.  Near  the  close  of  the  "  Collections  "  he 
says  that  what  has  been  given  is  but  a  small  part 
of  what  might  have  been  preserved  "  had  this 
account  of  his  life  been  written  fifty  or  sixty 

1  Livingston,    Characteristics,    Wodrow    Soc.,    "  Select   Bio 
graphies,"  i.  306,  307. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH 


years  sooner."  There  are  scattered  notices  of  him 
in  the  remains  of  Row,  Blair,  Livingston  and 
others.  In  the  ordinary  Histories  of  Scotland  we 
find  distinct  and  even  conspicuous  mention  made 
of  Bruce  during  the  few  years  of  his  prominent 
public  life  as  a  courtier  and  minister  in  the 
pulpit  of  the  Capital,  but  the  later  part  of  his 
life  falls  into  oblivion.  It  is  unlikely,  though 
still  not  impossible,  that  further  materials  may 
be  discovered.  Meanwhile  little  more  than  such 
a  sketch  as  is  here  given  can  be  made  out.  It 
is  not  to  be  denied  that  the  fragmentary  and 
obscure  nature  of  the  record  may  have,  in  a  sense, 
deepened  the  impression  which  Bruce  left  on 
the  memory  of  his  time.  It  is  partly  the  gloom 
and  disappointment  of  the  times  and  his  conduct 
under  these  which  have  helped  to  shed  lustre  on  his 
name.  A  man  of  bold  and  comprehensive  mind, 
of  stern  independence  and  stainless  integrity  he 
would,  in  any  case,  have  secured  the  respect  of 
his  countrymen.  Had  he  chosen  to  accommo 
date  himself,  even  in  the  slightest  degree,  to  the 
contemporary  spirit,  he  might  have  continued  to 
stand  high  in  royal  favour  and  might  have  become 
in  point  of  influence  the  first  man  of  his  age.  But 
the  greatness  of  his  character  as  a  Christian  minis 
ter  and  patriot  shone  brightest  in  adversity,  and 
thus  contributed  most  largely  to  secure  those  bless 
ings  of  religious  freedom  and  liberty  of  conscience 
which  have  come  down  to  us.  It  is  not  only 
by  his  writings  that  he  made  his  mark.  These 
give  ample  proofs  of  an  incisive  and  masterly 


Ixxvi  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH 

mind.  But  his  earnest  contendings,  his  patient 
personal  sufferings,  his  unflinching  protest  main 
tained  to  the  last,  against  the  course  of  declension 
that  was  forced  upon  the  Church  and  country, 
have  impressed  both  his  own  and  subsequent  ages. 
Let  us  remember  that  he  passed  away  before 
the  first  fringe  of  the  cloud  was  raised,  though 
not  before  some  rays  of  light  had  begun  to  struggle 
through.  His  time  was  that  which  one  of  his 
contemporaries  has  called  "the  declining  age  of 
the  Kirk  of  Scotland." 1  But  this  brave  man 
never  lost  heart  nor  hope,  never  doubted  that 
a  better  day  would  come,  and  that  the  cause 
of  truth  and  right  would  triumph.  His  name 
will  ever  be  dear  to  his  country  as  that  of 
one  of  the  Heroes  of  the  Scottish  Reformation. 

1  James  Melville's  "  Diary,"  p.  505. 


SERMONS   VPON  THE  SACRA- 

ment  of  the  LorcCs  Supper  : 

PREACHED 

IN  THE  KIRK  OF  EDIN- 

B  VR  Gil  BE  M.  ROBER  T  BR  VCEy 
MINISTER   OF   CHRISTES 

Euangcl  there ;  at  the  time  of  the  cele- 

bration  of  the  Supper,  as  they 

were  receaued  from  his 

niouth. 

IOHN.  vi.  54.  63. 

QohafMuer  eaUth  mj  flefh,  and  drinketh  mj  blood,  hath  eUrnali 

life,  and  I  will  raife  him  rp  at  the  laft  da  jr. 
It  is  the  Spirit  that  quikneth  ;  the  flefh  profiteth  oithicg  :  the  word* 

that  I  fpejike  unto  tou,  are  Spirit  and  life. 


AT   EDINBVROH 

PRINTED  BY  ROBERT  WALDE- 

graue,  Printer  to  the  Kings  Majejlie. 

Cum  Priuilegio  Regali. 


To  the 

MOST  HIGH,  PUISSANT,  AND  CHRISTIAN 
PRINCE, 

JAMES  THK  SIXTH,  KING  OF  SCOTS, 

GRACE  AND  PEACE  FROM  GOD  THE  FATHER, 
AND  OUR  LORD  JESUS  CHRIST. 


PLEASE  YOUR  MAJESTY, — I  was  not  of  mind,  at 
the-  first,  that  this  work  should  have  come  out  in 
my  time  ;  for  the  conscience  of  my  own  weakness 
testifies  unto  me  that  nothing  worthy  of  light  can 
proceed  from  such  a  one.  Vet,  notwithstanding, 
being  overcome  at  the  last  by  the  instant  suit  of 
our  Kirk  and  Session,  I  was  content  that  their 
authority  should  command  me  in  this.  And  if  it 
shall  please  the  Lord  to  bless  it  in  such  sort,  that 
poor  and  simple  ones  may  find  either  comfort  or 
instruction  in  it,  suppose  learned  ears  find  no  con 
tentment,  I  will  think  myself  abundantly  satisfied. 
For,  seeing  God  has  sanctified  me  in  some  measure 
to  His  work,  it  must  be  an  argument  of  His  ever 
lasting  blessing  that  if,  while  life  lasteth,  it  may 
be  employed  always  to  the  profit  of  His  Kirk  ;  for 
who  am  I  that  should  not  employ  His  own  graces 
to  His  own  glory  ?  And  I  pray  God  that  it  may 
be  found  in  that  great  day,  that  how  mean  that 

Ixxix 


DEDICATION 


ever  they  be,  yet  they  were  accompanied  with  this 
special  grace,  that  they  were  well  used.  And 
suppose  ye  be  a  King,  Sir,  of  this  kingdom 
presently,  and  apparent  of  another,  yet  think  with 
yourself  that  all  your  magnificence,  honour,  wealth, 
liberty,  and  all  the  rare  gifts  which  God,  of  His 
mercy,  has  planted  in  you,  cannot  be  otherwise 
well  employed  except  they  be  employed  to  the 
defence  of  the  truth,  and  of  that  pure  and  sincere 
discipline  grounded  thereupon,  which,  to  your 
Majesty's  great  praise,  and  to  our  singular  com 
fort,  has  this  long  time,  by  your  Majesty's  autho 
rity,  been  established  in  this  country  ;  for  this  sort 
of  doing  shows  that  God  has  not  only  made  you  an 
heir  to  earthly  kingdoms,  but  also  has  appointed 
you  to  be  a  fellow-heir  with  Jesus  Christ,  of  that 
immortal  kingdom  and  glorious  Crown  that  cannot 
fade  or  fall  away.  And  as  your  Majesty's  life  and 
liberty  has  hitherto  been  conjoined  with  the  stand 
ing  and  liberty  of  Jesus  Christ's  kingdom  within 
your  country,  continue  and  stick  by  this  liberty, 
and,  no  doubt,  Jesus  Christ  shall  stick  by  you.  I 
will  not  fash  your  Majesty  with  many  words  ;  only 
this  I  do  your  Majesty  to  wit,  that  I  clothe  not 
this  work  with  your  Majesty's  name  and  authority 
for  any  worthiness  that  I  thought  to  be  in  it  —  for 
it  is  rudely  set  out  in  sensible  and  homely  terms, 
as  it  was  received  of  my  mouth,  and  as  it  pleased 
God  for  the  time  to  give  me  it  ;  but  I  had  this 
respect,  that  as  it  is  the  first  thing  that  proceeds 
from  me,  so  I  thought  meet  to  make  it  the  first 
testimony  of  my  thankfulness  and  sincere  affection, 


DEDICATION  Ixxxi 

as  well  to  the  truth  of  God  as  to  your  Majesty's 
service,  whom,  under  God,  I  tender  as  mine  own 
life,  and  would  be  glad  that  God  would  bless  me 
with  the  influence  that  might  advance  your  High 
ness'  name  or  estimation,  both  here  in  this  present 
world  and  in  the  world  to  come.  And,  in  the 
meantime,  because  I  may  not  as  I  would,  I  shall 
do  as  1  may,  in  my  prayers  continually  remember 
your  Royal  person,  together  with  the  Queen  your 
bed-fellow  ;  and  crave  continuance  of  your  race,  at 
the  hands  of  the  Almighty  God,  through  the 
righteous  merits  of  Jesus  Christ ;  under  whose 
protection,  for  now  and  ever,  I  leave  your  Majesty. 
From  Edinburgh,  the  9th  of  December  1590. 

Your    Majesty's    most    humble    and     obedient 
subject, 

MR  ROBERT  BRUCE, 

Minister  oj  Christ's  Evangel. 


9 


SERMONS   UPON  THE  SACRAMENT 


:  FIRST  SERMON 

UPON    THE    SACRAMENTS    IN    GENERAL 
(/Vwc/j'W  the  first  of  Ftbrwtry  1589) 

For  I  have  received  of  the  Lord,  tliat  which  I  also  have 
delivered  unto  you,  to  wit,  that  the  Lord  Jesus  in  the  night 
when  he  was  betrayed  took  Bread,  &c. — 1  COK.  xi.  23. 

THERE  is  nothing  in  this  world,  nor  out  of  the 
world,  more  to  be  craved  and  sought  of  every 
one  of  you,  than  to  be  conjoined,  and  once  for  all 
made  one  with  the  God  of  glory,  Christ  Jesus. 
This  heavenly  and  celestial  conjunction  is  procured 
and  brought  about  by  two  special  means  ;  It  is 
brought  about  by  means  of  the  word  and  preach 
ing  of  the  Gospel  ;  and  it  is  brought  about  by 
means  of  the  sacraments,  and  ministration  thereof. 
The  word  leads  us  to  Christ  by  the  ear ;  the 
sacraments  lead  us  to  Christ  by  the  eye  :  two 
senses,  of  all  the  rest,  which  God  has  chosen  as 
most  meet  for  this  purpose,  to  instruct  us  and 
bring  us  to  Christ.  For  that  doctrine  must  be 
most  effectual  and  moving  which  addresses  and 
stirs  up  most  of  the  outward  senses  :  that  doctrine 
which  awakens  not  only  the  ear,  but  the  eye,  the 
taste,  the  feeling,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  outward 


2  THE   FIRST   SERMON 

senses,  must  move  the  heart  most,  must  be  most 
effectual  and  piercing  in  the  soul.  But  so  it  is, 
that  this  doctrine  of  the  sacraments  moves,  stirs  up 
and  awakens  most  of  the  outward  senses  ;  therefore 
it  must  be  (if  we  come  well  prepared  to  it)  most 
effectual  to  stir  up  the  inward  senses  of  the  dull 
heart.  But  there  is  a  thing  that  must  ever  be 
remembered  ;  there  is  no  doctrine,  neither  of  the 
simple  word,  nor  yet  of  the  sacraments,  (if  Christ 
abstract  his  Holy  Spirit),  that  is  able  to  move. 
Therefore,  whenever  you  come  to  hear  the  doctrine, 
whether  it  be  of  the  sacraments  or  of  the  simple 
word,  crave  of  God  that  He  would  be  present  by 
his  Holy  Spirit,  or  otherwise  all  the  doctrine  in 
the  earth  will  not  avail  you.  Nevertheless  this 
doctrine  of  the  sacraments  stirs  up  and  awakens 
most  of  the  outward  senses,  and  there  is  no 
question  therefore,  but  it  is  an  effectual  and 
potent  instrument,  to  awaken,  prepare,  and  stir 
up  our  hearts. 

Then,  to  let  you  see  what  the  word  "  sacra 
ment  "  means,  and  to  remove  the  ambiguity  of  it, 
it  is  certain  and  out  of  all  question,  that  the  most 
ancient  Latin  divines,  did  interpret  the  Greek 
word  fwgrjjgiov,  by  the  word  "  sacrament "  ;  and 
that  they  used  the  Greek  word,  not  only  to  signify 
the  whole  action, — as  the  whole  action  of  Baptism, 
and  the  whole  action  of  the  Lord's  Supper  ; 
but  they  used  the  word  "  Mystery,"  to  signify 
whatsoever  is  dark  and  hid  in  itself,  and  not 
made  familiar  by  the  common  use  of  men  :  as, 
after  this  manner,  the  Apostle  calls  the  voca- 


THE    SACRAMENTS    IN    GENERAL         3 

tion  of  the  Gentiles  a  mystery.1  This  con 
junction  which  is  begun  here  between  us  and 
Christ,  is  called  a  Mystery  ; 2  and  the  Latin  in 
terpreters  call  it  a  Sacrament :  and  to  be  short, 
you  will  not  find  in  the  Book  of  God  a  word 
more  frequent  than  the  word  Mystery.  But  as 
to  the  word  Sacrament,  whereby  they  translate 
the  Greek  word,  we  find  not  this  word  taken  so 
largely  by  the  same  divines  :  neither  is  it  taken 
so  largely  in  any  part  of  the  Book  of  God.  Never 
theless  the  word  "  sacrament  "  is  very  ambiguous 
in  itself,  and  there  arise  about  the  ambiguity  of 
this  word  many  controversies  which  are  not  yet 
ceased,  nor  will  cease  while  the  world  lasts  : 
whereas  if  they  had  kept  the  Apostle's  words, 
and  called  them  as  the  Apostle  calls  them,  Signs 
and  Seals  ;  all  this  controversy,  strife  and  con 
tention,  had  probably  not  fallen  out.  But  where 
men  will  be  wiser  than  God,  and  give  names  to 
things  without  warrant  from  God,  upon  the  wit 
of  man,  which  is  mere  folly,  all  this  trouble  falls 
out. 

Well  then,  to  come  to  the  purpose  ;  the  ancient 
divines  took  the  word  Sacrament,  as  we  may 
perceive,  in  a  fourfold  manner.  Sometimes  they 
took  it  for  the  whole  action,  that  is,  for  the  whole 
ministry  of  the  elements  :  sometimes  they  took 
it,  not  for  the  whole  action,  but  for  the  outward 
things  that  are  used  in  the  action  of  Baptism  and 
of  the  Supper;  as  they  took  it  for  the  water 
and  sprinkling  of  it ;  for  the  bread  and  wine, 
1  Ephcs.  iii.  9.  2  Ephes.  v.  32. 


4  THE   FIRST   SERMON 

— breaking,  distributing,  and  eating  of  these. 
Thirdly,  again,  they  took  it,  not  for  the  whole 
outward  things  that  are  used  in  the  action,  but 
only  for  the  material  and  earthly  things,  the 
elements  :  as  for  bread  and  wine  in  the  Supper, 
and  water  in  Baptism.  And  after  this  sort,  says 
Augustine,  "  the  wicked  eat  the  body  of  our 
Lord,  concerning  the  sacrament  only ;  that  is 
concerning  the  elements  only."  Last  of  all,  they 
took  it,  not  only  for  the  elements,  but  for  the 
things  signified  by  the  elements.  And  after  this 
manner  Irenaeus  says,  that  a  sacrament  stands 
on  two  things  :  the  one  earthly,  the  other  heavenly. 
The  ancient  divines  then,  taking  the  word  after 
these  sorts,  no  question,  all  these  ways,  took  it 
rightly. 

But  leaving  the  ambiguity  of  the  word,  I  take 
the  word  Sacrament,  as  it  is  taken  and  used  this 
day  in  the  Church  of  God,  for  a  holy  Sign  and 
Seal  that  is  annexed  to  the  preached  word  of 
God,  to  seal  up  and  confirm  the  truth  contained 
in  the  same  word  :  in  such  sort  that  I  call  not 
the  seal  separated  from  the  word,  a  sacrament. 
For  as  there  cannot  be  a  Seal  but  that  which  is 
the  seal  of  an  evidence ;  and  if  the  seal  be 
separated  from  the  evidence  it  is  not  a  seal,  but 
simply  what  it  is  by  nature,  and  no  more.  So 
there  cannot  be  a  sacrament  except  it  be  hung 
to  the  evidence  of  the  word.  Was  it  a  common 
piece  of  bread  ?  It  remains  common  bread,  ex 
cept  it  be  joined  to  the  evidence  of  the  word. 
Therefore  the  word  only  cannot  be  a  sacrament, 


THE    SACRAMENTS    IN    GENERAL       5 

nor  the  element  only;  but  wonl  and  element 
conjointly,  must  make  a  sacrament.  And  so 
Augustine  said  well,  "  Let  the  word  come  to  the 
element,  and  so  you  shall  have  a  sacrament."  Ju 
such  sort  then,  the  word  must  come  to  the 
element  :  that  is,  the  word  preached  distinctly, 
and  all  the  parts  of  it  opened  up,  must  go  before 
the  hanging  to  of  the  sacrament ;  and  the  sacra 
ment  as  a  seal  must  follow  and  be  appended 
thereafter. 

Thus  I  call  a  sacrament,  the  word  and  seal 
conjointly,  the  one  appended  to  the  other.  It  is 
without  all  controversy,  and  there  is  no  debate 
about  it,  that  all  sacraments  are  signs  :  Now  if 
a  sacrament  be  a  sign,  as  the  sign  is  in  a  relation, 
in  that  category,  (for  so  we  must  speak  it  :)  so 
must  the  Sacrament  be  placed  in  that  same 
category  of  relation.  Now  every  relation  again 
must  stand,  of  necessity,  between  two  things  ;  for 
one  thing  cannot  be  the  correlative  of  itself: 
therefore  in  every  sacrament  that  has  a  relation, 
there  must  be  two  things  which  two  have  ever 
a  mutual  respect  the  one  to  the  other.  Take 
away  one  of  these  two  things  from  the  sacrament, 
you  lose  the  relation,  and  losing  the  relation,  you 
lose  the  sacrament,  Confound  one  of  these  two 
with  the  other  ;  make  either  a  confusion  or  mix 
ture  of  them,  you  lose  the  relation  :  and  losing  the 
relation,  you  lose  the  sacrament.  Turn  over  the 
one  into  the  other,  so  that  the  substance  of 
the  one  escapes,  and  vanishes  in  the  other  ;  you 
lose  the  relation,  and  so  you  lose  the  sacrament. 


6  THE    FIRST    SERMON 

Therefore  as  in  every  sacrament  there  is  a 
relation,  so  to  keep  the  relation,  you  must  ever 
keep  the  two  things  severally  in  the  sacrament. 

Now  for  the  better  understanding  and  con 
sideration  of  these  two  diverse  things  which  are 
relative  to  one  another,  we  shall  keep  this  order, 
by  God's  grace.  (1)  First  I  shall  let  you  see  what 
is  meant  by  a  sign  in  the  sacrament.  (2)  Next 
I  shall  let  you  understand  what  is  meant  by  the 
thing  signified.  (3)  Thirdly,  how  these  two  are 
coupled,  by  what  power  and  virtue  they  are  con 
joined  ;  and  from  whence  this  power  and  virtue 
flows.  (4)  Fourthly,  and  last  of  all,  I  shall  let  you 
understand  whether  one  and  the  selfsame  instru 
ment  gives  the  sign  and  the  thing  signified,  or 
not  ;  whether  they  be  given  in  one  action  or 
two ;  whether  they  be  offered  to  one  instrument  or 
two  ;  or  whether  they  be  given,  after  one  manner 
or  two,  to  both  the  instruments.  Mark  these 
diversities  ;  the  diverse  manner  of  receiving,  the 
diversity  of  the  instruments,  and  the  diversity  of 
the  givers  :  and  ye  shall  find  little  difficulty  in 
understanding  the  sacrament. 

1.  Now  to  begin  at  the  signs,  seeing  all  sacra 
ments  are  signs,  what  call  we  the  signs  in  the 
sacrament  ?  I  call  the  signs  in  the  sacrament 
whatsoever  I  perceive  and  take  up  by  my  outward 
senses,  by  mine  eye  especially.  Now  you  see  in 
this  Sacrament,  there  are  two  sorts  of  things 
subject  to  the  outward  senses,  and  to  the  eye 
especially  :  you  see  the  elements  of  Bread  and 
Wine  are  subject  to  mine  eye ;  therefore  they 


THE    SACRAMENTS    IN   GENERAL        7 

must  be  signs.  You  see  again,  that  the  rites 
and  ceremonies,  whereby  these  elements  are  dis 
tributed,  broken,  and  given,  are  subject  to  mine 
eye  also.  Therefore  1  must  make  two  sorts  of 
signs ;  one  sort  of  the  Bread  and  Wine,  and  we 
call  them  elemental :  another  sort  of  the  rites  and 
ceremonies  whereby  these  are  distributed,  broken, 
and  given  ;  and  we  call  them  ceremonial.  Be 
not  deceived  with  the  word  "  ceremony "  ;  think 
not  that  I  call  the  breaking  of  the  Bread,  and 
drinking  of  the  Wine,  "ceremonies";  think  not 
that  they  are  vain,  as  we  use  that  word  "  cere 
mony  "  for  a  vain  thing,  which  has  no  grace  nor 
profit  following  after  it.  No,  although  I  call 
them  "ceremonies,"  there  is  never  a  ceremony 
which  Christ  instituted  in  this  Supper,  but  it  is 
as  essential  as  the  Bread  and  Wine  are,  and  you 
cannot  leave  out  one  jot  of  them,  but  you  pervert 
the  whole  institution  :  for  whatever  Christ  com 
manded  to  be  done,  whatever  he  spake  or  did,  in 
that  whole  action,  it  is  essential  and  must  be 
done. 

The  reason  why  I  call  them  Signs  is  this  :  I 
call  them  not  signs  for  the  reason  that  men 
commonly  call  them  signs,  because  they  signify 
only  ;  as  the  bread  signifies  the  body  of  Christ, 
and  the  wine  signifies  the  blood  of  Christ :  I  call 
them  not  signs  because  they  represent  only  ;  but 
I  call  them  signs,  because  they  have  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ  conjoined  with  them.  Yea  so 
truly  is  the  body  of  Christ  conjoined  with  that 
Bread,  and  the  blood  of  Christ  conjoined  with 


8  THE   FIRST   SERMON 

that  Wine,  that  as  soon  as  thou  receivest  that 
Bread  in  thy  mouth  (if  thou  be  a  believing  man 
or  woman)  so  soon  receivest  thou  the  body  of 
Christ  in  thy  soul,  and  that  by  faith  :  and  as 
soon  as  thou  receivest  that  Wine  in  thy  mouth, 
so  soon  receivest  thou  the  blood  of  Christ  in  thy 
soul,  and  that  by  faith  :  In  respect  of  this  ex 
hibition  chiefly,  that  they  are  instruments  to 
deliver  and  exhibit  the  things  that  they  signify, 
and  not  in  respect  only  of  their  representation, 
are  they  called  signs.  For  if  they  did  nothing 
but  represent  or  signify  a  thing  absent,  then  any 
picture  or  dead  image  should  be  a  sacrament ;  for 
there  is  no  picture, — as,  for  example,  the  picture 
of  the  King, — but  at  the  sight  of  the  picture,  the 
King  will  come  in  your  mind,  and  it  will  signify 
unto  you  that  that  is  the  King's  picture.  So 
if  the  sign  of  the  sacrament  did  no  more,  all 
pictures  should  be  sacraments :  but  in  respect 
that  the  sacrament  exhibits  and  delivers  the 
thing  that  it  signifies,  to  the  soul  and  heart,  so 
soon  as  the  sign  is  delivered  to  the  mouth,  for 
this  cause,  especially,  it  is  called  a  sign.  There 
is  no  picture  of  the  King  that  will  deliver  the 
King  unto  you  ;  there  is  no  other  image  that 
will  exhibit  the  thing  whereof  it  is  the  image  ; 
therefore  there  is  no  image  can  be  a  sacrament. 
Thus,  in  respect  the  Lord  hath  appointed  the 
sacraments,  as  hands  to  deliver  and  exhibit  the 
thing  signified,  for  this  delivery  and  exhibition 
chiefly  they  are  called  signs.  As  the  word  of 
the  Gospel  is  a  mighty  and  potent  instrument  to 


THE    SACRAMENTS    IN    GENERAL       9 

our  everlasting  salvation  :  so  the  Sacrament  is  a 
potent  instrument  appointed  by  God  to  deliver 
to  us  Christ  Jesus,  for  our  everlasting  salvation. 
For  this  spiritual  meat  is  dressed  and  served 
up  to  us  in  spiritual  dishes :  that  is,  in  the 
ministry  of  the  word,  and  in  the  ministry  of 
the  sacraments.  And  though  this  ministry  be 
external,  yet  the  Lord  is  said  to  deliver  spiritual 
and  heavenly  things  by  these  external  things. 
Why  ?  Because  He  has  appointed  them  as  instru 
ments  whereby  He  will  deliver  his  own  Son  to  us. 
For  this  is  certain,  that  none  has  power  to  deliver 
Christ  Jesus  to  us,  except  God  and  his  Holy 
Spirit  :  and  therefore,  to  speak  properly,  there 
is  none  can  deliver  Christ  but  God  by  his  own 
Spirit.  He  is  delivered  by  the  ministry  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  ;  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit  that  seals  Him 
up  in  our  hearts,  and  confirms  us  more  and  more 
in  Him  :  as  the  Apostle  gives  Him  this  style, 
2  Cor.  i.  L>1>. 

To  speak  properly,  there  is  none  has  power  to 
deliver  Christ  but  God  the  Father  or  Himself. 
There  is  none  has  power  to  deliver  the  Mediator 
but  His  own  Spirit :  yet  it  has  pleased  God  to 
use  some  instruments  and  means,  whereby  He  will 
deliver  Christ  Jesus  to  us.  The  means  are  these  ; 
the  ministry  of  the  word,  and  the  ministry  of  the 
sacraments  ;  and  in  respect  He  uses  these  as 
means  to  deliver  Christ,  they  are  said  to  deliver 
Him.  But  here  you  have  to  distinguish  between 
the  principal  efficient  deliverer,  and  the  instru 
mental  efficient,  which  is  the  word  and  sacra- 


10  THE   FIRST   SERMON 

ments :  keeping  this  distinction,  both  these  are 
true  ;  God  by  his  word,  and  God  by  his  Spirit, 
delivers  Christ  Jesus  to  you.  Therefore  I  say, 
I  call  them  signs,  because  God  has  made  them 
potent  instruments  to  deliver  that  same  thing 
which  they  signify. 

2.  Now  I  come  to  the  thing  signified,  and  I 
call  the  thing  signified  by  the  signs  in  the 
sacrament,  that  which  Irenaeus,  that  old  writer, 
calls  the  heavenly  and  spiritual  thing :  to  wit, 
whole  Christ  with  his  whole  gifts,  benefits  and 
graces,  applied  and  given  to  my  soul.  Thus  I 
call  not  the  thing  signified  by  the  signs  of  Bread 
and  Wine, — the  benefits  of  Christ, — the  graces  of 
Christ, — or,  the  virtue  that  flows  out  of  Christ 
only  :  but  I  call  the  thing  signified, — together 
with  the  benefits  and  virtues  flowing  from  Him, — 
the  very  substance  of  Christ  Himself,  from  which 
this  virtue  doth  flow.  The  substance  with  the 
virtues,  gifts  and  graces  that  flow  from  the  sub 
stance,  is  the  thing  signified  here.  As  for  the 
virtue  and  graces  that  flow  from  Christ,  it  is  not 
possible  that  thou  canst  be  partaker  of  the  virtue 
that  flows  from  His  substance,  except  thou  be 
first  partaker  of  the  substance  itself.  For  how  is 
it  possible  that  I  can  be  partaker  of  the  juice 
that  flows  out  of  any  substance,  except  I  be 
partaker  of  the  substance  itself  first  ?  Is  it 
possible  that  my  stomach  can  be  refreshed  with 
that  meat,  the  substance  whereof  never  came 
into  my  mouth  ?  Is  it  possible  my  thirst  can 
be  slaked  with  that  drink,  which  never  passed 


THE    SACRAMENTS    IN    GENERAL        11 

down  my  throat  ?  Is  it  possible  that  I  can  suck 
any  virtue  out  of  anything  except  I  get  the  sub 
stance  first  ?  So  it  is  impossible  that  I  can  get 
the  juice  and  virtue  that  flow  out  of  Christ 
except  I  get  the  substance,  that  is — Himself  first. 
So  I  call  not  the  thing  signified,  the  grace  and 
virtue  that  flow  from  Christ  only  ;  nor  Christ 
himself  and  his  substance,  without  his  virtue  and 
graces ;  but  jointly  the  substance  with  the  graces, 
— whole  Christ,  God  and  man,  without  separation 
of  His  natures,  without  distinction  of  His  sub 
stance  from  His  graces. 

This  I  call  the  thing  signified  by  the  signs  in 
the  Sacrament  :  for  why  ?  if  no  more  be  signified 
by  the  Bread  but  the  flesh  and  body  of  Christ 
only,  and  no  more  be  signified  by  the  Wine  but 
the  blood  of  Christ  only,  thou  canst  not  say,  that 
the  body  of  Christ  is  Christ  ;  it  is  but  a  part  of 
Christ  :  thou  canst  not  say,  that  the  blood  of 
Christ  is  whole  Christ ;  it  is  but  a  part  of  Him  : 
and  a  piece  of  thy  Saviour  saved  thee  not  ;  a  part 
of  thy  Saviour  wrought  not  the  work  of  thy  salva 
tion  :  and  so  suppose  thou  get  a  piece  of  Him  in 
the  sacrament,  that  part  will  do  thee  no  good. 
To  the  end  therefore  that  this  .sacrament  may 
nourish  thee  to  life  everlasting,  thou  must  get  in 
it  thy  whole  Saviour,  whole  Christ,  God  and  man, 
with  his  whole  graces  and  benefits,  without  separa 
tion  of  His  substance  from  His  graces,  or  of  the 
one  nature  from  the  other.  And  how  get  I  Him  ? 
Not  by  my  mouth.  It  is  a  vain  thing  to  think 
that  we  will  get  God  by  our  mouth  :  but  we  get 


12  THE    FIRST   SERMON 

Him  by  faith.  As  He  is  a  Spirit,  so  I  eat  Him 
by  faith  and  belief  in  my  soul ;  not  by  the  teeth 
of  my  mouth  ;  that  is  a  vain  thing.  Be  it,  that 
thou  mightest  eat  the  flesh  of  Christ  with  thy 
teeth,  this  were  a  cruel  manner  of  doing ;  yet 
thou  mayest  not  eat  the  God-head  with  thy 
teeth  :  this  is  a  gross  fashion  of  speaking.  So 
if  ever  you  get  good  of  the  Sacrament,  you  must 
get  whole  Christ ;  and  there  is  not  an  instrument 
whereby  to  lay  hold  of  Him  but  by  faith  only  : 
therefore  come  with  a  believing  heart. 

O  !  but  you  will  ask  me, — and  by  appearance, 
the  definition  laid  down  of  the  thing  signified 
gives  a  ground  to  it, — if  the  flesh  of  Christ  and 
the  blood  of  Christ  be  a  part  of  the  thing  signi 
fied,  how  can  I  call  His  flesh  a  spiritual  thing,  and 
Christ  in  respect  of  His  flesh,  a  heavenly  thing  ? 
You  will  not  say  that  the  substance  of  Christ's 
flesh  is  spiritual,  or  that  the  substance  of  His 
blood  is  spiritual ;  wherefore  then  call  you  it  an 
heavenly  and  spiritual  thing  ?  I  will  tell  you  ; — 
The  flesh  of  Christ  is  called  a  spiritual  thing,  and 
Christ  is  called  spiritual  in  respect  of  His  flesh  : 
not  that  His  flesh  is  become  a  spirit ;  or  that 
the  substance  of  His  flesh  is  become  spiritual. 
No  !  it  remains  true  flesh,  and  the  substance  of 
it  is  one,  as  it  was  in  the  womb  of  the  Virgin. 
Nor  is  His  flesh  called  spiritual,  in  respect  it  is 
glorified  in  the  heavens  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
Father ;  be  not  deceived  with  that :  for  though 
it  be  glorified,  yet  it  remains  true  flesh,  that  same 
flesh  which  He  took  out  of  the  womb  of  the 


THE    SACRAMENTS    IN    GENERAL          13 

Virgin.  Neither  is  it  spiritual,  because  thou 
seest  it  not  in  the  Supper  ;  if  thou  wert  where 
it  is,  thou  mightest  see  it  :  but  it  is  called 
spiritual  in  respect  of  the  spiritual  ends  where- 
unto  it  serves  to  my  body  and  soul  ;  because 
the  flesh  and  blood  of  Christ  serves  to  nourish 
rne,  not  to  a  temporal,  but  to  a  spiritual  and 
heavenly  life. 

Now  in  respect  this  flesh  is  a  spiritual  food, 
serving  me  to  a  spiritual  life,  for  this  cause  it  is 
called  a  spiritual  thing  :  if  it  nourish  me  as  the 
flesh  of  beasts  doth,  but  to  a  temporal  life,  it 
should  be  called  but  a  temporal  thing  :  but  in 
respect  it  nourishes  my  soul,  not  to  an  earthly 
and  temporal  life,  but  to  an  heavenly,  celestial, 
and  spiritual  end,  in  respect  of  this  cud,  the 
flesh  of  Christ,  and  Christ  in  respect  of  His  flesh, 
is  called  the  spiritual  thing  in  the  Sacrament.  It 
is  also  called  the  spiritual  thing  in  the  Sacrament, 
in  respect  of  the  spiritual  instrument  whereby  it 
is  received.  The  instrument  whereby  the  flesh  of 
Christ  is  received,  is  not  a  corporal  instrument ; 
is  not  the  teeth  and  mouth  of  the  body,  but  it  is 
spiritual,  it  is  the  mouth  of  the  soul  which  is 
faith  :  and  in  respect  the  instrument  is  spiritual, 
therefore  Christ  who  is  received,  is  also  called 
spiritual.  In  respect  also  that  the  manner  of 
receiving  is  a  heavenly,  spiritual,  and  celestial 
manner  ;  not  a  natural  nor  external  manner  :  in 
respect  that  the  flesh  of  Christ  which  is  given 
in  the  Sacrament,  is  received  in  a  spiritual  and 
secret  manner,  which  is  not  seen  by  the  eyes  of 


i 


14  THE    FIRST   SERMON 

men ;  in  all  these  respects  I  call  Christ  Jesus  the 
heavenly  and  spiritual  thing,  which  is  signified  by 
the  signs  in  the  Sacrament. 

Now  I  say,  in  the  end,  the  thing  signified  must 
be  applied  to  us.  What  avails  it  me  to  see  my 
medicine  in  a  box,  standing  in  an  apothecary's 
shop  ?  What  can  it  work  toward  me  if  it  be 
not  applied  ?  What  avails  it  me  to  see  my  salva 
tion  afar  off,  if  it  be  not  applied  to  me  ?  There 
fore  it  is  not  enough  for  us  to  see  Christ,  but  He 
must  be  given  us,  or  else  He  cannot  work  health 
and  salvation  in  us.  And  as  this  salvation  is 
given  us,  we  must  have  a  mouth  to  take  it. 
What  avails  it  me  to  see  meat  before  me,  except 
I  have  a  mouth  to  take  it  ?  So  the  thing  signi 
fied  in  the  Sacrament,  must  be  given  us  by  God, 
by  the  three  persons  of  the  Trinity  one  God,  by 
Christ  Jesus,  who  must  give  Himself:  and  as 
He  gives  Himself,  so  must  we  have  a  mouth  to 
take  Him.  Though  He  presents  and  offers  Him 
self,  yet  He  can  profit  and  avail  none  but  those 
who  have  a  mouth  to  receive  Him.  Thus  you  see 
what  I  call  the  thing  signified  :  whole  Christ,  God 
and  Man,  without  separation  of  His  natures,  with 
out  distinction  of  His  substance  from  His  graces, 
all  applied  to  us  and  received  by  us. 

Therefore  I  say,  seeing  we  come  to  the  Sacra 
ment  to  be  fed  by  His  flesh,  and  refreshed  by  His 
blood,  to  be  fed  to  an  heavenly  and  spiritual  life : 
and  seeing  there  is  no  profit  to  be  had  at  this 
table  without  some  kind  of  preparation  :  there 
fore  let  no  man  presume  to  come  to  this  table, 


THE    SACRAMENTS    IN    GENERAL          15 

except  in  some  measure  he  be  prepared.  Some 
will  be  prepared  in  a  greater  measure  than  others; 
but  let  no  man  presume  to  go  to  it,  except  his 
heart  be  in  some  measure  sanctified.  Therefore 
my  exhortation  concerning  the  way,  whereby  every 
one  of  you  ought  to  prepare  yourselves  that  you 
may  tit  you  the  better  to  the  table,  is  this ; 
There  is  not  one  of  you  that  comes  to  the  table 
of  the  Lord,  who  may  bring  before  the  Lord  his 
integrity,  justice,  and  uprightness  :  but  whosoever 
goes  to  the  table  of  the  Lord,  he  ought  to  go 
with  the  acknowledging  and  confession  of  his 
misery :  he  ought  to  go  with  a  sorrowful  heart, 
for  the  sins  wherein  he  has  offended  (lod  ;  he 
ought  to  go  with  a  hatred  of  those  sins  :  Not  to 
protest  that  he  is  holy,  just  and  upright ;  but  to 
protest,  and  confess,  that  lie  is  miserable,  and  of 
all  creatures  the  most  miserable  :  and  therefore  he 
goes  to  that  table  to  get  support  for  his  misery, 
to  obtain  mercy  at  the  throne  of  Grace  :  to  get 
remission  and  forgiveness  of  his  sins,  to  get  the 
gift  of  repentance,  that  more  and  more  he  may 
study  to  live  uprightly,  holily,  and  soberly  in  all 
time  to  come.  Therefore  except  you  have  entered 
on  this  course,  and  have  a  purpose  to  continue  in 
this  course,  to  amend  your  past  life,  to  repent  you 
of  your  sins,  and  by  the  grace  of  God  to  live  more 
uprightly  and  soberly  than  you  have  done  ;  for 
God's  cause,  go  not  to  the  table.  For  where 
there  is  not  a  purpose  to  do  well  and  to  repent, 
of  necessity  there  must  be  a  purpose  to  do  ill  : 
and  whosoever  comes  to  that  table  with  a  pur- 


16  THE    FIRST   SERMON 

pose  to  do  ill,  and  without  a  purpose  to  repent, 
he  comes  to  mock  Christ,  to  scorn  Him  to  His 
face,  and  to  eat  his  own  present  condemnation. 
So  let  no  man  come  to  that  table  that  has  not 
in  his  heart  a  purpose  to  do  better,  that  has  not 
a  heart  to  sorrow  for  his  past  sins,  and  thinks  not 
his  former  folly  and  madness  over-great.  Let  no 
man  come  to  the  table  without  this,  under  the 
pain  of  condemnation.  But  if  you  have  in  your 
heart  a  purpose  to  do  better,  though  your  former 
life  has  been  dissolute  and  loose  ;  yet  if  you  be 
touched  in  your  hearts  with  any  feeling  or  remorse 
for  your  past  life,  go  not  from  the  table,  but  come 
with  a  protestation  of  your  misery  and  wretched 
ness,  and  come  with  a  heart  to  get  grace.  If 
with  a  dissolute  life,  (I  mean  not  of  open  slanders) 
thou  hast  also  a  purpose  not  to  amend,  but  to  do 
worse,  for  God's  sake  abstain. 

Thus  far  of  the  thing  signified.  Unto  this 
general  consideration  there  remain  these  things 
yet,  to  be  made  plain  to  you  :  First,  how  the 
signs  and  the  thing  signified  are  coupled  together, 
— how  they  are  conjoined.  Next,  it  remains  to 
be  told  you,  how  the  sign  is  delivered  and  how 
the  thing  signified  is  delivered,  and  how  both  are 
received  as  they  are  delivered.  This  being  done, 
I  shall  speak  briefly  of  the  other  part  of  the 
Sacrament,  which  is  the  word.  And  last  of  all,  we 
shall  let  you  see  what  sort  of  faults  they  are  that 
pervert  the  sacrament,  and  make  it  of  no  effect. 
And  if  time  shall  serve,  I  shall  enter,  in  particular, 
upon  this  sacrament  which  we  have  in  hand. 


THE    SACRAMENTS    IN    GENERAL         17 

3.  Then,  to  come  back  again.  In  the  third 
place,  it  is  to  be  considered,  how  the  sign  and 
the  thing  signified,  are  coupled  :  For  about  this 
conjunction  all  the  debate  stands  ;  all  the  strifes 
that  we  have  with  those  who  vary  from  the 
straight  truth,  turn  upon  the  manner  of  this  con 
junction.  Some  will  have  them  conjoined  one 
way,  and  some  after  another  way  ;  and  men  strive 
very  bitterly  about  this  matter,  and  continue  so 
to  strive,  that  through  the  bitterness  of  contention, 
they  lose  the  truth.  For  when  the  heat  of  con 
tention  arises,  and  especially  in  disputation,  they 
take  no  heed  to  the  truth,  but  to  the  victory.  If 
they  may  be  victorious,  though  it  were  but  by  a 
multitude  of  words,  they  regard  not  even  if  they 
lose  the  truth.  Head  their  works  and  books  about 
this  conjunction,  and  you  will  crave  rather  con 
science  than  knowledge  :  yea  if  they  had  the 
quarter  of  conscience,  that  they  have  of  knowledge, 
no  question  this  controversy  might  be  easily  taken 
up  :  but  men  lacking  conscience,  and  having  know 
ledge,  an  evil  conscience  perverts  their  knowledge, 
and  draws  them  to  an  evil  end. 

To  tell  you  now  how  these  two  are  conjoined, 
it  will  be  far  easier  for  me,  and  easier  for  you  to 
understand,  to  tell  you  first  how  they  are  not 
conjoined  :  for  I  shall  make  it  very  clear  to  you, 
by  letting  you  see  how  they  are  not  conjoined  : 
but  it  is  not  possible  to  make  it  so  clear  by 
telling  you  the  manner  how  they  are  conjoined. 
You  may  perceive  clearly  by  your  own  eyes,  that 
the  sign  and  the  thing  signified  are  not  locally 


18  THE    FIRST    SERMON 

conjoined :  that  is,  they  are  not  both  in  one 
place.  You  may  perceive  also  by  your  outward 
senses,  that  the  body  of  Christ,  which  is  the  thing 
signified,  and  the  signs,  are  not  conjoined  corpor 
ally  ;  their  bodies  touch  not  one  another.  You 
may  perceive  also  that  they  are  not  visibly  con 
joined,  they  are  not  both  subject  to  the  outward 
eye.  So  it  is  easy  to  let  you  see  how  they  are 
not  conjoined.  For  if  the  sign  and  the  thing 
signified  were  visibly  and  corporally  conjoined, 
what  need  were  there  for  us  to  have  a  sign  ?  To 
what  end  should  the  sign  in  the  Sacrament  serve 
us  ?  Is  not  the  sign  in  the  Sacrament  appointed 
to  lead  me  to  Christ  ?  Is  not  the  sign  appointed 
to  point  out  Christ  to  me  ?  If  I  saw  Him  present 
with  mine  own  eye,  as  I  do  the  Bread,  what  need 
had  I  of  the  Bread  ?  Therefore  you  may  see 
clearly,  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  corporal, 
natural,  or  any  such  like  physical  conjunction 
between  the  sign  and  the  thing  signified.  So  I 
say,  it  is  easy  to  let  you  see  how  they  are  not 
conjoined. 

Now  let  us  see  how  they  are  conjoined.  We 
cannot  crave  here  any  other  sort  of  conjunction 
than  may  stand  and  agree  with  the  nature  of  the 
sacrament  :  for  nothing  can  be  conjoined  with 
another,  after  any  other  sort,  than  the  nature  of  it 
will  suffer  ;  therefore  there  cannot  be  here  any 
other  sort  of  conjunction  than  the  nature  of  the 
sacrament  will  suffer.  Now  the  nature  of  the 
sacrament  will  allow  a  sacramental  conjunction. 
0,  but  that  is  as  hard  yet ;  you  are  never  the 


THE    SACRAMENTS    IN    GENERAL          19 

better  for  this  ;  but  I  shall  make  it  clear,  by 
God's  grace.  Every  sacrament  is  a  mystery  ; 
there  is  not  a  sacrament  but  it  contains  a  high 
and  divine  mystery.  In  respect  then  that  a 
sacrament  is  a  mystery,  it  follows,  that  a 
mystical,  secret,  and  spiritual  conjunction  agrees 
well  with  the  nature  of  the  sacrament.  Since 
the  conjunction  between  us  and  Christ  is  full  of 
mystery,  as  the  Apostle  lets  us  see,  (Eph.  v.  32) 
as  it  is  a  mystical  and  spiritual  conjunction  :  so 
no  doubt  the  conjunction  between  the  sacrament 
and  the  thing  signified  in  the  sacrament,  must  be 
of  the  same  nature  ;  mystical  and  spiritual.  It  is 
not  possible  to  tell  you  by  any  ocular  demonstra 
tion,  how  Christ  and  we  are  conjoined.  But 
whoever  would  understand  that  conjunction,  his 
mind  must  be  enlightened  with  an  heavenly  eye  ; 
that  as  he  has  an  eye  in  his  head  to  see  corporal 
things  :  so  he  must  have  in  his  mind  and  heart 
a  heavenly  eye  to  see  this  mystical  conjunction  ; 
a  heavenly  eye  to  take  up  this  secret  conjunction 
that  is  between  the  Son  of  God  and  us  in  the 
sacrament.  So  I  need  not  to  insist  any  longer  : 
except  you  have  this  heavenly  illumination,  you 
can  never  understand  your  own  conjunction  with 
Christ,  nor  yet  the  conjunction  between  the  sign 
and  the  thing  signified  in  the  sacrament. 

But  I  keep  to  my  ground.  As  the  sacrament 
is  a  mystery  ;  so  the  conjunction  that  is  in  the 
sacrament,  no  doubt  must  be  a  mystical,  secret 
and  spiritual  conjunction.  Besides  this,  I  will  let 
you  see  by  a  general  deduction,  that  in  every 


20  THE    FIRST    SERMON 

sacrament  are  two  things  ;  which  two  have  a 
relation  and  mutual  respect  the  one  to  the  other  : 
so  that  a  relative  conjunction  agrees  well  with  the 
nature  of  the  sacrament.  Then  wilt  thou  ask 
what  kind  of  conjunction  it  is  ?  I  answer,  the 
conjunction  that  agrees  with  their  nature  ;  namely, 
a  relative  and  a  respective  conjunction  ;  such  a  con 
junction  wherein  the  sign  has  a  continual  respect 
to  the  thing  signified,  and  the  thing  signified  to 
the  sign. 

Would  you  know,  then,  in  a  word  the  kind  of 
conjunction  that  is  between  the  sign  and  the 
thing  signified  ?  I  call  it  a  secret  and  mystical 
conjunction,  that  stands  in  a  mutual  relation 
between  the  sign  and  the  thing  signified.  There 
is  another  conjunction,  besides  the  conjunction 
that  is  between  Christ  and  us,  that  may  make 
this  conjunction  betwixt  the  sign  and  the  thing 
signified  in  the  Sacrament  more  clear  :  and  this 
is  the  conjunction  which  is  between  the  word 
which  you  hear,  and  the  thing  signified  by  the 
same  word.  Mark  what  sort  of  conjunction  there 
is  between  the  word  which  you  hear,  and  the 
thing  signified  which  cometh  into  your  mind  ;  the 
like  conjunction  is  there  between  the  sign  that 
you  see,  and  the  thing  signified  in  the  sacrament. 
You  may  easily  perceive  that  there  is  a  conjunc 
tion  by  the  effect,  although  you  cannot  so  well 
know  the  manner  of  conjunction.  And  why  ? 
You  hear  not  the  word  so  soon  spoken  by  me,  but 
immediately  the  thing  which  my  words  signify, 
comes  into  your  mind.  If  I  speak  of  things  past, 


THE    SACRAMENTS    IN    GENERAL         21 

of  things  to  come,  or  of  things  that  are  never  so 
far  absent,  I  can  no  sooner  speak  to  you  of  them 
in  this  language,  but  presently  the  thing  signified 
comes  into  your  mind  ;  no  doubt  because  there  is 
a  conjunction  between  the  word  and  the  tiling 
signified  by  the  word.  As  for  example  :  though 
Paris,  be  far  distant  from  us  ;  yet  if  I  speak  of 
Paris  the  word  is  no  sooner  spoken,  but  the  City 
will  come  into  your  mind.  If  I  speak  of  the 
King,  although  he  be  far  distant  from  us,  the 
word  is  no  sooner  spoken  but  the  thing  signified 
will  come  into  your  mind.  So  this  coming  of  the 
thing  signified  into  heart  and  mind,  makes  it  plain 
to  you,  that  there  is  a  conjunction  between  the 
word  and  the  thing  signified  by  the  word. 

To  tell  you  of  this  sort  of  conjunction  is  not  so 
easy,  because  the  thing  signified  is  not  present  to 
the  eye,  as  the  word  is  to  the  ear.  If  everything 
signified  were  as  present  to  your  eye  as  the  word 
is  to  the  ear,  it  were  easy  to  see  the  conjunction  : 
but  now  seeing  the  conjunction  is  mystical,  secret, 
and  spiritual,  therefore  it  is  hard  to  make  you 
understand  it.  Only  observe  what  conjunction  there 
is  between  the  simple  word  and  the  thing  signified 
by  the  word  ;  the  same  kind  of  conjunction  is  there 
between  the  sacrament  and  the  thing  signified  by 
the  sacrament :  for  the  Sacrament  is  no  other 
thing  but  a  visible  word.  I  call  it  a  visible  word. 
Why  ?  Because  it  conveys  the  signification  of  it, 
by  the  eye  to  the  mind  ;  as  this  is  an  audible 
word,  because  it  conveys  the  signification  of  it  by 
the  ear  to  the  mind.  In  the  sacrament  so  often 


22  THE   FIRST    SERMON 

as  you  look  on  it,  you  shall  no  sooner  see  the  Bread 
with  your  eye,  but  the  body  of  Christ  shall  come 
into  your  mind  ;  you  shall  no  sooner  see  the  Wine, 
but  after  the  preaching  and  opening  up  of  the 
parts  of  the  sacrament,  the  blood  of  Christ  shall 
come  into  your  mind. 

Now  this  conjunction  between  the  sign  and  the 
thing  signified  in  the  sacrament,  stands  chiefly 
as  you  may  perceive,  in  two  things.  First,  in  a 
relation  between  the  sign  and  the  thing  signified  ; 
which  arises  from  a  likeness  and  proportion  betwixt 
these  two  :  for  if  there  were  no  proportion  arid 
analogy  between  the  sign  and  the  thing  signified 
by  the  sign,  there  could  not  be  a  sacrament  or  a 
relation.  So  the  first  part  of  this  conjunction 
stands  in  a  relation,  which  arises  from  a  certain 
similitude  and  likeness  which  the  one  has  to  the 
other.  And  this  likeness  may  be  easily  perceived  : 
for  look  how  able  the  Bread  is  to  nourish  thy  body 
to  this  life,  earthly  and  temporal ;  the  flesh  of 
Christ  signified  by  the  Bread,  is  as  able  to  nourish 
both  body  and  soul  to  life  everlasting.  So  you  may 
perceive  some  kind  of  proportion  between  the  sign 
and  the  thing  signified.  The  Second  point  of  the 
conjunction  stands  in  a  continual  and  mutual  con 
curring  of  the  one  with  the  other  ;  in  such  sort 
that  the  sign  and  the  thing  signified  are  offered 
both  together,  received  together  at  one  time,  and 
in  one  action ;  the  one  outwardly,  the  other  in 
wardly,  if  so  be  that  thou  hast  a  mouth  in  thy 
soul,  which  is  faith,  to  receive  it.  Thus  the 
second  point  of  conjunction  stands  in  a  joint 


THE    SACRAMENTS    IN    GENERAL         23 

offering,  and  in  a  joint  receiving :  and  this  I  call 
a  concurrence.  Thus  would  you  know  what 
manner  of  conjunction  is  between  the  sign  and 
the  thing  signified  ?  I  say,  it  is  a  relative  con 
junction,  a  secret  and  a  mystical  conjunction, 
which  stands  in  a  mutual  relation.  There  is  no 
more  to  be  observed  here  but  this  only,  that  while 
you  conjoin  these  two,  you  be  careful  not  to  con 
found  them  :  beware  that  you  turn  not  the  one 
into  the  other,  but  keep  each  of  them  in  his  own 
integrity,  without  confusion  or  mixture  of  the  one 
with  the  other;  and  so  you  shall  have  the  lawful 
conjunction  that  should  be  in  the  sacrament. 

There  is  not  a  lesson  that  can  be  learned  out 
of  this,  at  the  least  that  I  can  mark  or  gather, — 
except  only  the  lesson  of  the  kindness  and  good 
ness  of  the  overliving  God,  who  has  invented  so 
many  wonderful  sorts  of  conjunction,  and  all  to 
this  purpose,  that  we  might  be  conjoined  ;  to 
advance  this  great  and  mystical  conjunction 
between  the  God  of  Glory  and  us  :  In  the  which 
conjunction,  our  weal,  felicity,  and  happiness  in 
this  life,  and  in  the  life  to  come,  do  only  stand  : 
that  He  is  so  careful  to  conjoin  Himself  with  His 
word  and  sacraments,  that  we,  in  His  word  and 
sacraments,  might  be  conjoined  with  Him.  If 
we  were  moved  with  the  care  and  love  of  God 
expressed  in  these  conjunctions,  though  it  were 
never  so  little  on  our  parts,  assuredly  we  should 
never  defraud  ourselves  of  the  fruit  of  that  happy 
conjunction,  nor  bring  it  into  such  loathing  and 
disdain  as  we  do  this  day  :  for  we  by  following 


24  THE    FIRST    SERMON 

and  preferring  our  pleasures  to  Christ  and  His 
counsel,  have  made  the  stomachs  of  our  souls  so 
foul  and  ill-disposed,  that  either  they  receive  Him 
not  at  all,  or  if  He  be  received,  He  is  not  able  to 
tarry.  And  why  ?  Because  a  foul  stomach  is  not 
able  to  keep  Him  :  for  immediately  we  choke  Him 
so,  either  with  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  or  with  the 
cares  of  this  world,  that  He  is  compelled  to  depart. 
And  if  Christ  be  not  both  eaten  and  digested,  He 
can  do  us  no  good  :  and  this  digestion  cannot  be, 
where  there  is  not  a  greedy  appetite  to  the  receiv 
ing  of  Him  ;  for  if  thou  be  not  hungry  for  Him, 
He  is  not  ready  for  thee.  And  I  am  assured,  if  all 
the  men  in  this  country  were  examined  by  this 
rule, — that  there  were  none  that  received  Christ 
but  he  that  has  a  stomach  and  is  hungry  for  Him, 
I  doubt  that  few  should  be  found  to  receive  Him. 
I  fear  that  we  have  taken  such  a  loathing  and 
disdain  of  that  heavenly  food,  that  there  is  not 
such  a  thing  as  any  kind  of  hunger  or  appetite 
for  it  in  our  souls. 

And  what  is  the  cause  of  this  ?  I  will  tell 
you  :  Though  we  have  renounced  the  corporal  and 
gross  idolatry  wherein  our  fathers  were  plunged 
and  drowned,  and  which  men,  in  some  parts,  go 
about  to  erect  still :  yet,  as  the  manners  of  this 
country,  and  the  behaviour  of  every  one  of  us 
testifies,  there  is  not  a  man  that  has  renounced 
that  damnable  idol  that  he  has  in  his  own  soul, 
nor  the  invisible  idolatry  that  he  has  in  his  own 
heart  and  mind.  There  is  not  a  man  but  to 
that  same  idol  wherewith  he  was  conceived  and 


THE    SACRAMENTS    IN    GENERAL         25 

born,  and  whereunto  lie  addicted  himself  and  was 
a  slave  before,  but  to  that  idol  he  gives  his  service 
yet.  And  therefore  marvel  not,  when  thou  hast 
addicted  thy  service,  set  thy  affection,  and  poured 
out  thy  heart  upon  that  pleasure,  idol,  lust  and 
mischief  of  thine  own,  marvel  not  if  thou  have 
no  appetite  to  Christ  nor  to  that  heavenly  food. 
When  thou  hast  thy  soul  poured  forth  on  some 
villainy  and  wickedness,  and  hast  sent  it  far 
afield,  how  is  it  possible  for  thee  to  retire  it  or 
draw  it  home  again,  to  employ  it  where  thou 
shouldest,  on  Christ  Jesus  ?  Then  let  every  one 
in  his  own  rank,  take  heed  to  his  own  domestic 
idol  that  lodges  within  his  own  heart,  and  strive  to 
clear  himself  of  it ;  or  otherwise  you  cannot  see  the 
face  of  Christ,  nor  be  partakers  of  His  kingdom. 

There  is  not  another  lesson  in  Christianity  but 
this  :  this  is  the  first  and  the  last  lesson, — 
to  shake  oil'  your  lusts  and  affections  piece  by 
piece,  and  so  piece  by  piece  renounce  thyself, 
that  thou  mayest  embrace  Christ.  I  grant  there 
is  greater  progress  in  this  point,  in  some  than  in 
others ;  some  less,  some  more  profit  in  this  :  but 
except,  in  some  measure,  you  cast  oil'  yourselves, 
and  whatsoever  in  your  own  eyes  you  count 
most  precious,  to  come  by  Christ,  you  are  not 
worthy  of  Him.  And  this  is  very  hard  to  be 
done  :  It  is  very  easy  for  a  man  to  speak  it,  to 
bid  a  man  renounce  his  own  idol,  which  I  call 
his  affections ;  but  it  is  not  so  soon  done. 
Assuredly  the  stronger  must  come  in  to  cast  out 
these  affections ;  yea,  a  stronger  than  the  devil 


26  THE    FIRST    SERMON 

must  come  in  to  drive  out  the  devil  who  makes 
residence  in  the  affection,  or  else  he  will  remain 
there  for  ever.  Therefore,  there  are  not  many 
that  have  renounced  themselves ;  and  examine 
thine  heart  when  thou  wilt,  if  there  be  anything 
in  the  world  thou  lovest  better  than  Christ :  if 
thou  be  not  content  to  leave  father  and  mother, 
to  leave  wife  and  children,  or  whatsoever  is 
dearest  to  thee  in  this  world,  for  Christ,  thou  art 
not  worthy  of  Him.  If  thou  be  not  content  to 
cast  off  whatever  makes  thee  a  stranger  to  Christ, 
thou  art  not  worthy  of  Him. 

Is  this  any  small  matter, — seeing  there  is  no 
part  nor  power  of  our  souls  but  is  opposed  to  it, 
and  repines  against  this  heavenly  conjunction  ? 
Is  this  an  easy  thing,  to  cast  off  and  renounce 
ourselves,  that  we  may  come  to  Christ  ?  There 
is  no  greater  thing  than  this  :  It  has  not  entered 
into  every  heart,  to  consider  this ;  for  this  work 
of  a  new  creation  is  ten  thousand  times  greater 
than  the  work  of  our  first  creation.  And  there 
fore,  it  is  most  necessary  that  every  man  take 
heed  to  himself;  for  the  devil  is  so  crafty  on 
this  point,  that  he  erects  ever,  one  idol  or  other 
in  our  souls  ;  and  sometimes  under  the  show  of 
virtue ;  which  of  all  is  most  dangerous.  And 
in  every  work  that  we  take  in  hand,  be  it  never 
so  holy,  he  is  at  our  right  hand,  and  makes 
himself  to  have  interest  in  it :  and  he  contents 
himself  not  with  this,  under  the  show  of  virtue  to 
deceive  us ;  but  he  is  so  watchful,  that  even 
in  the  best  case,  when  you  are  best  occupied 


THE    SACRAMENTS    IN    GENERAL         27 

in  your  most  virtuous  actions,  he  mixes  them 
with  sins,  and  so  does  all  that  lies  in  him  to 
make  you  lose  your  profit,  and  lose  your  reward. 
For  when  you  are  best  occupied  he  goes  about 
to  engender  in  you  an  opinion  of  yourselves,  and 
so  defraud  (Jod  of  His  glory.  Or,  otherwise,  in 
doing  of  good  deeds  he  makes  you  so  slack  and 
negligent,  that  if  you  do  them,  you  do  them  coldly, 
or  so  indiscreetly,  that  he  makes  yon  begin  at 
the  last  first,  and  makes  that  which  should  be 
first,  last ;  and  so,  as  Martha  was,  to  be  occupied 
and  over-busy  in  those  things  which  are  not  so 
necessary,  as  the  things  wherein  Mary  was  occupied  : 
for  she  should  have  preferred  first  the  hearing 
of  the  word,  to  the  preparing  of  Christ's  supper. 
This  is  but  to  give  you  an  insight,  and  to  let 
you  see  that  the  devil  is  so  crafty,  that  either  he 
casts  in  a  false  conceit  of  ourselves,  in  doing  any 
good  turn,  or  else  makes  us  do  that  last  which 
should  be  first ;  or  then,  makes  us  altogether  so 
sluggish  and  so  negligent,  that  we  do  the  work 
of  the  Lord  coldly  :  and  so  one  way  or  other,  he 
holds  us  ever  in  a  continual  business,  so  that 
we  cannot  be  half  watchful  enough.  For  we 
have  to  do  with  principalities  and  powers,  with 
spiritual  wickednesses,  which  are  above  us,  and 
within  us  also :  for  there  is  not  that  man  that 
has  corruption  within  him,  but  Satan  is  in  him  : 
we  cannot  therefore  be  half  watchful  or  studious 
enough  to  cast  out  the  devil,  to  renounce  our 
selves,  and  to  submit  us  unto  the  obedience  of 
Christ.  Thus  far  concerning  the  conjunction. 


28  THE   FIRST   SERMON 

Now  seeing  that  the  sign  and  the  thing  signified 
are  diverse,  it  remains  to  be  considered  how  the 
sign  is  delivered,  and  how  the  thing  signified  is 
delivered  ;  and  after  what  manner  they  are  re 
ceived.  And  therefore  concerning  this,  you  have 
these  things  to  weigh.  (1)  First,  to  consider 
whether  the  sign  and  the  thing  signified,  be 
delivered  unto  you  by  one  man  or  not.  (2) 
Secondly,  to  consider  whether  the  sign  and  the 
thing  signified,  be  delivered  unto  you  in  one 
action  or  not.  (3)  Thirdly,  whether  both  these 
things  be  given  by  one  instrument  or  not.  (4) 
Fourthly,  you  are  to  consider  whether  the  sign 
and  the  thing  signified  be  offered  and  received 
after  one  manner  or  not.  After  you  have  con 
sidered  all  these,  you  shall  find  in  the  end  that 
the  sign  and  the  thing  signified  are  not  given 
by  one  person.  You  shall  find  next,  that  they 
are  not  given  in  one  sort  of  action.  Thirdly,  you 
shall  find  that  they  are  not  both  offered  and 
given  by  one  instrument.  And  fourthly,  you  shall 
find  that  they  are  not  both  given  and  received 
after  one  manner.  So  finding  this  diversity,  you 
have  this  to  do :  mark  the  diversity  of  the 
offerers  and  givers :  mark  the  diversity  of  the 
actions  :  mark,  thirdly,  the  diversity  of  the  in 
struments  :  and  fourthly,  the  diverse  manner  of 
receiving.  Mark  all  these  diligently,  and  you 
shall  find  little  difficulty  in  understanding  the 
Sacrament. 

(1)  And  first  to  make  it  clear  unto  you,  I  say, 
that  the  sign  and  the  thing  signified  by  the  sign, 


THE    SACRAMENTS    IN    GENERAL         29 

are  not  both  given  by  one  man  ;  and  this  you  see 
plainly.  As  for  the  sign, — that  Bread  and  that 
Wine, — you  see  yourselves,  that  the  Minister  offers 
unto  you  the  sign,  he  gives  you  that  Sacrament ; 
as  that  sign  is  an  earthly  and  corporal  thing,  so 
it  is  an  earthly  and  corporal  man  that  gives  it. 
Now  the  thing  signified  is  of  another  nature  :  for 
it  is  a  heavenly  and  spiritual  thing.  Therefore 
this  heavenly  thing  is  not  given  by  an  earthly 
man  ;  this  incorruptible  thing  is  not  given  by  a 
natural  and  corruptible  man.  But  Christ  Jesus 
has  locked  up  and  reserved  the  ministry  of  this 
heavenly  thing  to  Himself  alone.  Therefore  there 
are  two  givers  in  this  sacrament  ;  the  Minister 
gives  the  earthly  thing;  Christ  Jesus  the  Mediator, 
gives  the  heavenly  thing  in  this  sacrament.  For 
Christ,  in  giving  the  earthly  thing,  will  not  use 
His  own  ministry  immediately,  nor  the  ministry 
of  an  angel,  but  only  the  ministry  of  an  earthly 
man.  And  as  for  the  dispensation  of  His  own 
body  and  blood,  He  will  not  give  it  either  to  any 
heavenly  creature,  far  less  to  an  earthly  man  ;  but 
He  keeps  this  ministry  to  Himself;  and  He  dis 
penses  His  own  body  and  blood,  to  whom  and  when 
He  pleases.  For  why  ?  If  any  man  in  the  world  had 
power  to  give  Christ's  body  and  blood,  no  question, 
this  man  should  have  power  to  cleanse  the  heart 
and  conscience,  (for  the  blood  of  Christ  has  this 
power  with  it),  and  consequently  should  have  power 
to  forgive  sins.  Now,  it  is  only  God  that  may 
forgive  sins ;  and  therefore  it  is  not  possible  that 
the  ministry  of  the  heavenly  tiling  can  be  in  the 


30  THE    FIRST   SERMON 

power  of  any  man.  Example,  we  have  in  John 
the  Baptist,  (Matt.  iii.  11),  says  he  not,  "The 
ministry  that  I  have,  is  of  the  element.  I  am 
commanded  to  minister  the  element  of  water 
only :  but  as  for  the  ministry  of  fire  and  of 
the  Spirit,  Christ  hath  reserved  it  unto  Himself." 
Therefore  look  not  to  get  the  Spirit  at  man's 
hands,  but  at  the  hands  of  Christ  Himself  only. 
And  without  this  inward  ministry  the  outward 
ministry  is  not  worth  a  straw.  For  my  outward 
ministry,  yea,  though  it  were  the  ministry  of 
an  angel,  and  though  Christ  were  present  in 
the  flesh  to  minister  unto  you  these  outward 
things  ;  except  He  conjoin  the  inward  ministry  of 
His  Spirit  therewith,  it  avails  nothing.  It  may 
well  make  up  an  accusation  and  process  against 
you,  in  the  day  of  that  general  assembly ;  but  to 
your  salvation  it  will  never  profit  you.  Therefore 
this  ought  you  always  to  pray  for,  that  the  Lord 
would  water  your  hearts  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  as 
He  waters  your  ears  by  the  hearing  of  the  word. 
Thus  there  are  two  offerers  ;  the  Minister  offers 
the  sign,  Christ  Jesus  offers  Himself, — the  thing 
signified.  The  three  persons,  one  God,  offers 
the  Mediator,  or  the  Mediator  offers  Himself,  and 
that  by  the  power  and  virtue  of  his  own  Spirit. 

(2)  As  there  are  two  offerers,  two  persons  that 
offer  and  give  the  sacrament,  and  the  thing 
signified  by  the  sacrament :  so  these  two  are 
offered  and  given  in  two  actions.  Christ  who 
is  the  heavenly  thing  is  offered  and  given  to  you 
by  an  inward,  secret,  and  spiritual  action,  which 


THE    SACRAMKNTS    IN    GENERAL         31 

is  not  subject  to  the  outward  eye.  The  sign 
again,  is  offered  and  given  in  an  outward  action, 
after  a  corporal  and  visible  manner. 

(3)  As  there  are  two  sorts  of  actions,  so  there  are 
two  sorts  of  instruments  whereunto  the  sign  and  the 
thing  signified  are  o tiered  :    for  the  thing  signified, 
that  is,  Christ,  is  never  offered  to  the  mouth  of  my 
body  :    the   blood    of  Christ,    the    flesh   of   Christ, 
whole  Christ,  or  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  is  not  offered 
either  in   the   word    or   in    the   sacrament    to    the 
mouth  of  my  body.      Let   them   find  me  that  in 
any    part   of  the   Bible,   that   there   is   any   other 
manner  of  receiving  Christ  than  by  faith,  and  let 
them    have    the    victory.        So    there    is    not    an 
instrument  as  I  told  you,  neither  hand  nor  mouth 
to    take    Christ,   but   faith   only.      As   Christ   who 
is  the   thing   signified,  is   held   by    the   hand   and 
mouth  of  faith  :  so  the  sign  which  signifies  Christ, 
is   received  by  our  own  natural  mouth   and   hand. 
You   have   a  mouth    in   your   heads,   and    in   your 
bodies,  as  proper  to  lay  hold  of  the  sign,  as  faith 
is   to   lay   hold  of  Christ.      So  the  sign   and  the 
thing  signified   are  offered  and  given,  not  to  one 
instrument  but    to    two ;    the   one   to   the   mouth 
of  the  body,  the  other  to  the  mouth  of  the  soul. 

(4)  Now  mark  ;    by  what  way  these  things  are 
offered    and    given,    by    the    same    way    they    are 
received  :  as    the    sign    is   corporal  and    naturally 
offered   to  a  corporal   instrument,  so  is  it  received 
after   a   corporal    and    natural    manner :    for  thou 
must   take   the  Bread   and   Wine,  either   by  thy 
hand  or  by  thy  mouth.      The   thing  signified   is 


32  THE   FIRST   SERMON 

not  taken  after  a  corporal  manner,  but  after  a 
secret  and  spiritual  manner :  and  as  it  is  offered 
so  it  is  taken.  There  can  be  nothing  clearer 
than  this  ;  the  one  is  taken  after  a  natural 
manner,  the  other  after  a  secret  and  spiritual 
manner.  So  in  this  last  part,  you  have  these 
things  to  mark,  to  distinguish  between  the  out 
ward  action  and  the  inward,  between  the  sign 
and  the  thing  signified,  and  to  keep  a  proportion 
and  analogy  between  the  inward  and  the  outward 
actions  :  you  may  surely  persuade  yourselves,  that 
if  you  be  faithful,  Christ  is  as  busy  working 
inwardly  in  your  soul,  as  the  Minister  is  working 
outwardly  toward  your  body  :  Look  how  busy 
the  Minister  is  in  breaking  that  Bread,  in  pour 
ing  out  that  Wine,  in  giving  that  Bread  and 
Wine  to  thee  ;  as  busy  is  Christ  in  breaking 
His  own  body  unto  thee,  and  in  giving  thee  the 
juice  of  His  own  body  after  a  spiritual  and  in 
visible  manner.  So  keep  this  distinction,  and  you 
may  assure  yourselves  that  by  faith  Christ  is 
as  well  occupied  towards  your  soul,  to  nourish  it, 
as  the  Minister  is  outwardly  towards  your  body. 
Keep  this,  and  you  have  the  whole  Sacrament. 

Then  from  this  discourse  and  deduction  you 
may  learn  a  double  matter,  whereof  the  sacrament 
consists.  It  consists  of  two  sorts  of  material ;  that 
is,  of  an  earthly  matter,  and  of  a  heavenly  matter  : 
the  sign  and  the  thing  signified.  And  as  there  is 
a  double  matter  in  the  sacrament,  so  the  sacra 
ment  must  be  handled  after  a  double  manner  ; 
by  an  outward  action,  and  an  inward  action. 


THE    SACRAMENTS    IN    GENERAL         33 

Keep  the  distinction  in  these  things,  between 
the  sign  and  the  thing  signified,  and  you  shall 
not  easily  slip  in  the  understanding  of  the 
Sacrament. 

This  being  said,  concerning  the  general  con 
sideration  of  the  elements,  (for  all  this  yet 
appertains  to  the  elements)  it  remains  that  we 
speak  somewhat  concerning  the  Word,  which  I 
call  the  other  part  of  the  Sacrament.  I  mean 
and  understand  by  the  word,  whereunto  the 
elements  are  annexed,  that  thing  which  quickens, 
which  supplies  as  it  were  a  soul,  and  gives  life 
to  the  whole  action.  For  by  the  word  and  the 
appointment  of  Christ  in  the  word,  the  Minister 
knows  what  is  his  part,  the  hearer  knows  what  is 
his  part,  and  every  one  is  prepared — the  Minister 
how  he  should  deliver,  and  the  hearer  how  he 
should  receive.  80  the  Institution  of  Christ  is 
the  quickening  of  the  whole  action  :  for  all  the 
action  is  warranted  from  the  Institution  set  down 
in  his  word.  In  the  Institution  of  Christ,  there 
are  two  things  chiefly  to  be  considered  : — a  Com 
mand,  and  a  Promise.  The  Command  is  this, 
Where  he  says  "  Take,  cat."  The  Command 
obliges  and  craves  obedience.  There  is  a  Promise 
also  in  the  Institution,  and  it  is  contained  in 
these  words,  "This  is  my  body."  As  the  command 
craves  obedience,  so  the  promise  craves  belief. 
Therefore  come  not  to  the  sacrament,  except  you 
bring  both  faith  and  obedience  with  you.  If 
thou  come  not  with  a  heart  minded  to  obey 
Christ,  at  least  more  than  thou  wast  wont  to  do, 


34  THE   FIRST   SERMON 

thou  comest  to  thine  own  damnation.  And  if 
thou  bringest  a  heart  void  of  faith,  thou  comest 
to  thine  own  damnation.  So  let  every  one  that 
comes  to  the  sacrament,  bring  with  him  a  heart 
minded  to  do  better  ;  that  is,  to  obey  and  believe 
Christ  better  than  he  did  in  time  past.  Except 
you  bring  these  two  in  some  measure,  come  not 
to  the  sacrament :  for  whatever  thou  do,  except 
it  flow  from  faith,  it  can  profit  nothing.  Thus 
far  briefly  concerning  the  Word. 

Now  it  will  be  demanded,  what  need  is  there 
that  these  sacraments  and  seals  should  be  annexed 
to  the  word  ?  Wherefore  are  they  annexed,  see 
ing  we  get  no  more  in  the  sacrament  than  we 
get  in  the  word,  and  we  get  as  much  in  the 
very  simple  word  as  we  get  in  the  sacrament  ? 
Seeing  then  we  get  no  new  thing  in  the  sacra 
ment  but  the  same  thing  which  we  get  in  the 
simple  word,  wherefore  is  the  sacrament  appointed 
to  be  hung  to  the  word  ?  It  is  true  certainly 
that  we  get  no  new  thing  in  the  sacrament  ;  we 
get  no  other  thing  in  the  sacrament  than  we  get 
in  the  word  :  for  what  more  wouldest  thou  crave 
than  to  get  the  Son  of  God,  if  thou  get  Him  well  ? 
Thy  heart  cannot  wish  nor  imagine  a  greater 
gift  than  to  have  the  Son  of  God,  who  is  king  of 
heaven  and  earth  :  therefore  I  say,  what  new 
thing  wouldest  thou  have  ?  For  if  thou  get  Him, 
thou  gettest  all  things  with  Him ;  thy  heart 
cannot  imagine  a  new  thing  besides  Him.  Where 
fore  then  is  the  sacrament  appointed  ?  Not  to 
get  thee  any  new  thing:  I  say,  it  is  appointed 


THE    SACRAMENTS    IN    GENERAL         35 

(1)  To  get  thec  that  same  thing  better,  than  thou 
hadst  it  in  the  word  The  Sacrament  is  appointed 
that  we  may  get  better  hold  of  Christ  than  we 
got  in  the  word  ;  that  we  may  possess  Christ  in 
our  hearts  and  minds,  more  fully  and  largely 
than  we  did  before  by  the  simple  word.  That 
Christ  might  have  a  larger  space  to  make  resi 
dence  in  our  narrow  hearts,  than  He  could  have 
by  the  hearing  of  the  word  ;  and  to  possess 
Christ  more  fully  is  a  better  thing.  For  suppose 
Christ  be  one  thing  in  Himself,  yet  the  better 
hold  thou  hast  of  Him,  thou  art  the  surer  of  His 
promise.  The  sacraments  are  appointed  that  I 
might  have  Him  more  fully  in  my  soul  ;  that  I 
might  have  the  bounds  of  it  enlarged,  that  He 
may  make  the  better  residence  in  me.  This 
no  doubt  is  the  cause  wherefore  these  Seals 
are  annexed  to  the  evidence l  of  the  simple 
word. 

(2)  They  serve  to  this  end  also,  to  seal  up  and 
confirm  the  truth  that  is  in  the  word,  for  as 
the  office  of  the  Seal  hung  to  the  evidence,  is 
not  to  confirm  any  other  truth  than  that  which 
is  in  the  evidence  ;  and  though  you  believed  the 
evidence  before,  yet  by  the  seals  you  believe  it 
better  :  even  so  the  Sacrament  assures  me  of  no 
other  truth,  than  is  contained  within  the  word  : 
yet  because  it  is  a  seal  annexed  to  the  word,  it 
persuades  me  the  better  of  the  same :  for  the 
more  the  outward  senses  are  awakened,  the  more 

1  An  "Evidence,"  in  a  sense  familiar  to  Scotch  lawyers,  is 
strictly  a  "document"  which  not  only  asserts  a  claim,  but 
proves  it. — ED. 


36  THE   FIRST   SERMON 

is    the    inward    heart    and    mind    persuaded    to 
believe. 

Now  the  Sacrament  awakens  all  the  outward 
senses,  as   the   eye,  the   hand,   and   all   the  rest ; 
and  the  outward  senses  being  moved,  no  question, 
the   Spirit   of    God    concurring   therewith,   moves 
the  heart  the  more.      The  sacraments  are  there 
fore  annexed  to  the   word,   to  seal  up  the  truth 
contained  in  the  word,  and  to  confirm  it  more  and 
more  in  thy  heart.      The   word   is   appointed   to 
work  belief;   and  the  sacrament  is  appointed   to 
confirm  you   in  this   belief.      But  except  you  feel 
the  truth   of  this  inwardly  in  your  hearts,  except 
you  have  your  heart  as  ready  as  your  mouth,  think 
not  that  anything  will  avail  you.     All  the  seals 
in  the  world  will  not  work,   except  the  Spirit  of 
God    concur   and   seal    the   same    truth    in    your 
hearts,    which    the    Sacrament    seals    outwardly : 
Except   He    make   clear   the   sight   of    thy   mind 
inwardly,  and  work   a  feeling  in  thy  heart,  both 
word    and   sacrament   shall   lose    their   fruit   and 
effect  which  they  should  have.      All  the  Scriptures 
are  full  of  this  :   the  whole  scriptures  of  God  are 
but  a  slaying  letter  to  you,  except  the -Spirit  of 
God  concur  to  quicken  inwardly.      So  your  whole 
endeavour  should  be,  to  strive  to  feel  Christ  alive 
in  your  own    hearts,   that   finding  Him   in   your 
hearts  and  seeing  Him  in  your  minds,  both  word 
and  sacraments   may  be    effectual :    If  not,  your 
souls  remain   dead,  you  are  not   translated   from 
that  death  wherein  you  were  conceived.      There 
fore  all  the  study  of  Christians  should   be,  when 


THE    SACRAMENTS    IN    GENERAL         37 

they  see  the  sacraments  and  hear  the  word,  to 
labour  to  find  and  feel  in  their  hearts  and  minds, 
that  which  they  hear  and  see  ;  and  this  I  call  to 
find  Christ  alive  in  your  own  souls.  This  cannot 
be  except  you  sanctify  His  lodging  :  for  if  all  the 
corners  of  thy  soul  remain  a  dunghill,  Christ 
cannot  dwell  there  :  and  so  except  you  study  a 
continual  sanctification,  and  sever  yourselves  from 
every  thing,  that  severs  you  from  Christ,  it  is  not 
possible  that  He  can  live  or  dwell  in  you. 

This  is  a  great  lesson,  and  it  is  not  possible  to 
do  this,  except,  as  I  have  said,  a  stronger  come 
in,  and  possess  us,  and  make  us  to  renounce 
ourselves.  Thus,  the  seals  had  not  been  annexed 
to  the  word,  except  for  our  cause  :  for  there  is  no 
necessity  on  God's  part,  that  God  should  either 
swear,  or  confirm  by  seals,  the  thing  that  He  has 
spoken  :  for  His  word  is  as  good  as  any  oath  or 
seal.  But  the  necessity  comes  of  us :  there  is 
such  a  great  weakness  in  us,  that  when  He  has 
sworn,  and  set  His  seal  to  His  word,  we  are  as 
near  to  belief  as  if  He  had  never  spoken  a  word. 
So  to  help  our  belief,  our  weakness  and  inability 
that  is  in  us  ;  (for  we  are  so  unable  by  nature 
that  we  can  believe  nothing  but  that  which  is  of 
ourselves  ;  and  the  more  we  lean  unto  ourselves  ; 
the  further  we  are  from  God  ;)  I  say  to  help  this 
wonderful  weakness,  whereby  we  are  ready  to 
mistrust  God  in  every  word  ;  He  has  annexed  His 
sacraments;  and  besides  His  sacraments,  He  swears 
the  things  that  concern  most  our  salvation  ;  as 
you  heard  in  the  Priesthood  of  Christ,  (Psalm 


38  THE   FIRST    SERMON 

ex.  4)  He  will  not  speak  only,  but  He  swears, 
and  that  for  our  weakness  and  infirmity :  but  yet 
if  He  abstract  the  ministry  of  His  Spirit,  all  these 
means  will  do  us  no  good. 

Now  the  last  thing  is,  how  the  Sacrament  is 
perverted  ;  and  how  we  are  defrauded  of  the  fruit 
and  effect  thereof.  Two  sorts  of  faults  pervert 
the  sacrament,  and  defraud  us  of  the  profit  and 
use  thereof;  and  these  faults  are  either  in  the  form, 
or  in  the  person.  In  form,  if  the  essential  form 
be  spoiled,  we  get  nothing :  for  when  the  sacra 
ment  is  spoiled  of  the  essential  form,  it  is  not 
a  sacrament.  There  is  an  essential  form  in 
Baptism,  and  an  essential  form  in  the  Supper, 
which  if  they  be  taken  away,  you  lose  the  use  of 
the  sacrament.  The  essential  form  of  Baptism 
is  :  "  I  baptize  thee  in  the  Name  of  the  Father, 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost."  Leave  out  one  of 
these  three,  or  do  it  in  the  name  of  anyone  of  the 
Three  Persons  only,  you  lose  the  essential  form  of 
Baptism.  In  the  Lord's  Supper,  if  you  leave  out 
the  least  ceremony,  you  lose  the  essential  form,  and 
so  it  is  not  a  sacrament.  I  speak  of  the  essential 
form,  in  respect  of  the  Papists,  who  keep  the 
essential  form  in  Baptism,  though  they  have 
brought  in  trifles  of  their  own,  and  mixed  with 
it ;  yet  in  respect  they  keep  the  substantial  form, 
it  is  not  necessary  that  they  who  were  baptized 
under  them,  be  rebaptized.  If  indeed  the  virtue 
of  regeneration  flowed  from  the  person,  it  were 
something ;  but  in  respect  Christ  has  this  to  give 
to  whom  and  when  He  pleases,  the  essential  form 


THE    SACRAMENTS    IN   GENERAL        39 

being  kept,  it  is  not  necessary  that  this  sacrament 
be  reiterated. 

Now  what  are  the  faults  in  the  person  that 
pervert  the  sacrament  ?  The  fault  may  be  either 
in  the  person  of  the  giver,  or  in  the  person  of 
the  receiver.  (I  speak  not  of  those  faults 
which  are  common  to  all,  but  of  such  faults  as 
disable  the  person  of  the  giver,  to  be  a  distributer 
of  the  Sacrament,  and  take  the  office  from  him.) 
So  when  the  person  of  the  giver  is  in  this  way 
disabled,  no  question,  it  is  not  a  sacrament. 
Then  again,  in  the  person  of  the  receiver,  the 
fault  may  be  ;  if  their  children  be  not  in  the 
covenant,  but  out  of  it,  they  get  not  the  sacra 
ment.  Indeed  if  the  parents  afterwards  come  to 
the  covenant,  the  children  (though  they  be  gotten 
out  of  the  covenant)  may  be  received.  Even  so 
in  the  Lord's  Supper,  if  a  man  be  laden  with  any 
burden  of  sin,  without  any  purpose  to  repent,  he 
ought  not  to  receive  it.  So  then,  if  you  come 
without  a  purpose  to  repent,  you  lose  the  use  of 
the  sacrament  :  it  is  only  this  purpose  to  repent, 
that  makes  me  who  receive  the  sacrament,  to  get 
the  fruit  and  effect  thereof;  therefore  everyone 
who  goes  to  the  sacrament,  must  look  what 
purpose  he  has  in  his  heart.  Hast  thou  a  pur 
pose  to  shed  blood,  to  continue  in  harlotry,  or  to 
commit  any  other  vile  sin  that  is  in  thy  heart, 
and  art  not  resolved  to  repent  ?  In  shewing  thee 
to  be  without  repentance,  thou  shewest  thyself  to 
be  without  faith,  and  consequently  thou  comest 
to  thy  condemnation,  and  not  to  thy  salvation  : 


40  THE    FIRST   SERMON 

take  heed,  then,  what  your  purpose  is ;  for  if 
with  a  dissolute  life,  you  have  a  dissolute  purpose, 
you  come  to  your  condemnation. 

I  had  thought  to  have  entered  particularly  into 
the  handling  of  this  Sacrament ;  but  because  the 
time  is  past,  and  some  of  you,  I  doubt  not,  are 
to  communicate,  only  this  :  Kemember  that  you 
address  not  yourselves  to  that  Table,  except  you 
find  your  hearts  in  some  sort  prepared.  The 
first  degree  of  preparation  stands  in  contrition,  in 
sorrowing  for  sin,  in  a  feeling  of  your  own  sins, 
wherein  you  have  offended  so  gracious  a  God.  If 
you  be  able,  as  that  woman  was,  by  the  tears  of  a 
contrite  heart  to  wash  the  feet  of  Christ,  humbly 
to  kiss  His  feet,  and  to  get  hold  of  the  feet  of 
Christ ;  though  you  dare  not  presume  so  high  as 
to  get  Him  whole,  you  are  in  good  case  :  but  if 
thou  want  all  these,  and  hast  them  not  in  some 
measure,  thou  lackest  all  the  degrees  of  prepara 
tion.  Therefore  let  none  come  to  this  Table, 
except  he  have  these  in  some  measure.  But 
where  there  is  a  displeasure  for  sin,  a  purpose  to 
do  better,  and  an  earnest  sobbing  and  sighing  to 
get  the  thing  that  thou  wantest ;  in  that  soul 
where  God  hath  placed  this  desire  of  Christ,  it  is 
the  work  of  God's  Spirit,  and  Christ  will  enter 
there.  And  therefore  though  that  soul  be  far 
from  the  thing  that  he  should  be  at,  let  him  not 
refuse  to  go  to  the  Lord's  Table  but  let  him  go 
with  a  profession  of  his  own  infirmity  and  weak 
ness,  and  with  a  desire  of  the  thing  that  he  wants. 
Everyone  of  you  that  finds  himself  this  way 


THE    SACRAMENTS    IN    GENERAL        4i 

disposed,  let  him  go  in  God's  name  to  the 
Lord's  Table  :  and  the  Lord  work  this  in  every 
one  of  your  hearts,  that  this  ministry  may  be 
effectual  in  you  at  this  time,  and  that  in  the 
righteous  merits  of  Jesus  Christ.  To  whom 
with  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  all 
honour,  praise  and  glory,  both  now  and  for  ever. 
Amen. 


THE  SECOND  SERMON 

UPON  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  TN  PARTICULAR 

(Preached  the  8th  of  February  1589) 

For  I  have  received  of  the  Lord,  that  which  I  also  have 
delivered  unto  you :  to  wit,  that  the  Lord  Jesus  in  the  night 
when  he  was  betrayed,  took  Bread,  etc. — 1  COR.  xi.  23. 

WE  ended  the  consideration  of  the  sacraments 
in  general  in  our  last  exercise,  well-beloved  in 
Christ  Jesus  :  now  it  remains  that  we  proceed  to 
the  consideration  of  this  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  in  particular.  And  that  you  may  the 
better  attain  to  the  knowledge  and  consideration 
of  the  great  variety  of  matter  that  is  contained  in 
this  Sacrament  of  the  Supper,  I  shall  endeavour 
as  God  shall  give  me  grace,  to  set  down  certain 
things  for  the  easier  understanding  of  it.  (1)  First 
of  all,  1  shall  let  you  see  what  names  are  given  to 
this  sacrament  in  the  Bible ;  and  I  shall  shew 
you  some  names  that  are  given  to  this  sacrament 
by  the  ancients.  (2)  Next  I  shall  let  you 
understand  for  what  chief  ends  and  respects  this 
sacrament  was  instituted  and  appointed  by  Christ 
Jesus.  (3)  Thirdly,  I  shall  come  to  the  things 
that  are  contained  in  the  sacrament ;  how  these 
things  are  coupled,  how  they  are  delivered,  and 
how  they  are  received.  (4)  And  last  of  all,  I  shall 

42 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR    43 


answer  certain  objections,  which  may  be  laid 
against  this  doctrine  :  and  as  God  shall  give  me 
grace  I  shall  refute  them,  and  so  end  this  present 
exercise. 

1.  Now  we  find  sundry  names  given  to  the 
Sacrament  of  the  Supper  in  the  book  of  God  ; 
and  every  name  carries  a  special  reason  with 
it.  We  find  this  sacrament  called  "  the  body 
and  blood"  of  Christ.1  This  name  is  given  it, 
no  doubt,  because  it  is  a  heavenly  and  spiritual 
nutriment ;  it  contains  a  nourishment  of  the  soul, 
that  is  able  to  nourish  and  train  up  the  soul  to 
a  life  spiritual,  to  that  life  everlasting  :  for  this 
cause  it  is  called  "  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ." 
It  is  also  called  "  the  Supper  of  the  Lord  "  to  put 
a  difference  betwixt  it  and  a  common  supper  :  for 
this  is  the  Lord's  Supper,'-  a  holy  supper;  not  a 
profane  or  common  supper  :  a  supper  appointed 
for  the  increase  of  holiness,  for  the  food  of 
the  soul  in  holiness,  to  feed  the  soul  to 
life  everlasting.  Not  a  supper  appointed  for 
the  belly  ;  for  He  had  ended  that  supper  that 
was  appointed  for  the  belly,  ere  ever  He  began 
this  supper  which  was  appointed  for  the  soul.  A 
"  supper  "  no  doubt  having  respect  to  the  circum 
stance  of  time,  by  reason  it  was  instituted  in  that 
article  of  time  when  they  used  to  sup.  It  is 
called  also  in  the  Bible,  "  the  Table  of  the  Lord."  3 
It  is  not  called  the  "  Altar  "  of  the  Lord  :  but  the 
apostle  calls  it  a  table  to  sit  at ;  not  an  altar  to 
stand  at :  a  table  to  take  and  receive  at,  not 
1  1  Cor.  xi.  27.  2  1  Cor.  xi.  20.  8  1  Cor.  x.  21. 


44  THE   SECOND    SERMON 

an  altar  to  offer  and  present  at.  It  is  called 
also  "  the  Communion "  and  participation  "  of 
the  body  and  Wood  of  Christ."  1  We  have  these 
names  given  to  it,  besides  some  others,  in  the 
Scriptures  of  God. 

The  ancients  of  the  Latin  and  of  the  Greek 
Churches,  gave  it  sundry  names  for  sundry  respects. 
They  called  it  a  "  public  action,"  and  this  was  a 
very  general  name.  Sometimes  they  called  it 
a  "  thanksgiving."  Sometimes  they  called  it  a 
"Banquet  of  Love";  sometimes  they  gave  it  one 
name  and  sometimes  another.  And  at  last  in 
the  declining  estate  of  the  Latin  Church  and  in 
the  falling  estate  of  the  Roman  Church,  this 
sacrament  began  to  be  perverted  ;  and  with  this 
decay  there  came  in  a  perverse  name,  and  they 
called  it  "  the  Mass."  They  trouble  themselves 
much  concerning  the  derivation  of  this  name  : 
sometimes  they  seek  it  from  a  Hebrew  origin  ; 
sometimes  from  a  Greek ;  and  sometimes  from  a 
Latin  origin  :  but  it  is  plain,  as  the  word  sounds, 
that  it  is  derived  from  the  Latin  ; 2  and  it  is  a 
word  which  might  have  been  tolerable  when  it 
was  first  instituted  :  for  no  doubt,  the  sacrament, 
at  the  first  institution  of  this  word,  was  not  wholly 

1  1  Cor.  x.  16. 

2  Evidently  the  Author  holds  the  usual  derivation  of  "  Mass  " 
to  be  the  correct  one.    The  words  ' '  lie  missa  est "  were  pronounced 
at  the  end  of  a  service  in  the  Church  ;  more  particularly  at  the 
end  of  the  service  in  which  Catechumens  and  other  non-com 
municants  took  part  (missa  catechumenorum).     After  these  had 
left,  the  service  of  the  faithful  began  (missa  fidelhmi).     So  the 
term  "mass"  was  applied  to  that  sacred  rite  from  which  all 
others  than  the  faithful  were  excluded.     In  earlier  ages  the  word 


THE  LORD  S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR     45 

perverted ;  but  now,  in  process  of  time,  corrup 
tion  has  prevailed  so  far,  that  it  has  turned  the 
sacrament  into  a  sacrifice  ;  and  where  we  should 
take  from  the  hand  of  God  and  Christ,  they  make 
us  to  give. 

This  is  plain  idolatry  :  and  therefore  whereas 
the  word  was  tolerable  before,  now  it  ought  not 
to  be  tolerated  any  way,  it  ought  not  to  be 
suffered.  And  certainly,  if  we  had  eaten  and 
drunk,  as  oft,  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  in 
our  souls,  as  we  have  eaten  that  bread  and  drunk 
that  wine,  which  are  the  signs  of  His  body  and 
blood,  we  should  not  have  suffered  this  word  of 
"  the  Mass,"  much  less  the  action  of  it,  to  be  so 
common  in  this  Country.  But  in  respect  we 
have  only  played  the  counterfeit,  and  defrauded 
our  souls  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  and 
taken  only  the  outward  sacrament  ;  therefore  it 
is  that  our  zeal  decays,  therefore  it  is  that  our 
knowledge  and  light  decay  :  and  for  want  of 
zeal,  love  and  knowledge,  the  word  of  "  the  Mass  " 
is  become  customary  to  you,  and  not  only  the 
word,  but  the  very  action.  I  shall  not  run  out 
herein  :  I  only  tell  you,  what  comes  of  the  abuse 
of  the  hearing  of  the  word,  what  judgments  follow 
upon  the  abuse  of  the  reception  of  the  sacraments. 

was  applied  to  all  services  of  prayer  or  praise,  even  to  those  where 
there  was  no  Communion.  The  word,  being  afterwards  applied 
to  the  service  of  the  Sacrament,  came  to  denote  the  very  thing 
which  at  first  it  did  not  mean.  The  other  favourite  derivation 
of  the  word,  by  Tymlall  and  others,  from  the  Hebrew  inisach, — 
a  pension-giving, — because  at  the  Sacrament  men  gave  a  portion 
for  the  austentation  of  the  poor,  is  plainly  an  after-thought. — ED. 


46  THE    SECOND    SERMON 

2.  Now  I  come  to  the  ends  for  which  the 
Sacrament  was  appointed.  This  Sacrament  was 
instituted  in  the  signs  of  Bread  and  Wine  ;  and 
was  appointed  chiefly  for  this  end,  to  represent 
our  spiritual  nutriment,  the  full  and  perfect 
nutriment  of  our  souls :  that  as  he  who  has 
Bread  and  Wine  lacks  nothing  for  the  full 
nourishment  of  his  body :  so  he,  or  that  soul, 
which  has  the  participation  of  the  body  and  blood 
of  Christ,  lacks  nothing  of  the  full  and  perfect 
nourishment  of  the  soul.  To  represent  this  full 
and  perfect  nourishment,  the  signs  of  Bread  and 
Wine  in  the  Sacrament  were  set  down  and 
instituted.  The  second  end  for  which  this  Sacra 
ment  was  instituted  is  this ;  that  we  might 
testify  to  the  world  and  to  the  princes  of  the 
world,  who  are  enemies  to  our  profession  ;  that 
we  might  openly  avow  and  testify  to  them  our 
Eeligion  and  our  manner  of  worshipping,  in  the 
which  we  avow  and  worship  Christ :  and  that  we 
might  also  testify  our  love  towards  His  members 
our  brethren  :  this  is  the  second  end  for  which 
it  was  instituted.  The  third  end  wherefore  it 
was  instituted  is  this  ;  to  serve  for  our  special 
comfort  and  consolation,  to  serve  as  a  sovereign 
medicine  for  all  our  spiritual  diseases,  as  we  find 
ourselves  either  ready  to  fall,  or  provoked  to  fall, 
by  the  devil,  the  flesh,  or  the  world ;  or,  after 
that  we  have  fallen  and  are  put  to  flight  by  the 
devil,  and  would  vain  flee  away  from  God  ;  God 
of  His  mercy,  and  of  His  infinite  pity  and  bottom 
less  compassion  has  set  up  this  sacrament,  as  a 


THE  LORD  S    SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR    47 

sign  on  an  high  hill,  whereby  it  may  be  seen  on 
every  side,  far  and  near,  to  call  all  them  again 
that  have  run  shamefully  away  :  and  He  clucks 
to  them  as  a  hen  doth  to  her  chickens,  to  gather 
them  under  the  wings  of  His  infinite  mercy. 
The  fourth  end  for  which  this  sacrament  was 
instituted  is  this,  that  in  this  action  we  might 
render  to  Him  hearty  thanks  for  His  benefits,  and 
that  He  has  come  down  so  familiarly  to  us, 
bowed  the  heavens  as  it  were,  and  given  us  the 
body  and  blood  of  His  own  Son  ;  that  we  might 
render  unto  Him  hearty  thanks,  and  so  sanctify 
His  benefits  to  us  :  for  this  thanksgiving  was  also 
this  Sacrament  instituted.  Thus  far  concerning 
the  ends  briefly. 

3.  Now  I  come  to  the  things  contained  in  this 
Sacrament.  You  see  with  your  eyes  there  are 
corporal  things,  visible  things,  as  the  Bread  and 
Wine.  There  are  again,  hid  from  the  eye  of  your 
body,  but  present  to  the  eye  of  your  mind, 
spiritual  things,  heavenly  and  inward  things  : 
both  these  are  in  the  sacrament. 

The  corporal,  visible  and  outward  things,  are 
the  things  which  are  appointed  to  signify  the 
spiritual,  heavenly,  and  inward  things.  And  why? 
Nothing  without  a  reason.  These  corporal  signs 
are  appointed  to  signify  the  spiritual  things, 
because  we  are  corporal  ;  we  are  earthly  bodies, 
we  have  our  soul  lodging  within  a  carnal  body, 
in  a  tabernacle  of  clay,  a  gross  tabernacle,  which 
cannot  be  awakened  nor  moved  except  by  the 
things  that  are  like  itself.  It  cannot  be  induced 


48  THE   SECOND    SERMON 

to  the  consideration  of  heavenly  things,  except  by 
gross,  temporal,  and  corporal  things.  If  we  had 
been  of  the  nature  of  the  thing  signified,  that, 
as  the  thing  signified  is  spiritual  and  heavenly, 
so  we  had  been  always  spiritual  and  heavenly,  we 
had  not  needed  a  corporal  thing.  Again,  if  the 
thing  signified  had  been  as  we  are,  corporal, 
earthly,  and  visible,  we  had  not  needed  a  sign 
to  lead  us  to  consider  it  :  But  because  the  thing 
signified  is  spiritual,  and  we  are  corporal,  therefore 
to  bring  us  to  the  sight  of  these  spiritual  things, 
He  uses  corporeal  means,  and  an  outward  sign. 
This  is  the  reason  why  these  corporal  signs  are 
appointed  to  signify  the  spiritual  thing. 

The  spiritual  thing  in  both  the  sacraments, 
is  one  and  the  self-same, — Christ  Jesus,  signified 
in  both  the  sacraments  :  yet  in  diverse  respects. 
He  is  the  thing  signified  in  Baptism,  and  He  is 
the  thing  signified  in  the  Supper.  This  Christ 
Jesus,  in  His  blood  chiefly,  is  the  thing  signified 
in  the  sacrament  of  Baptism  :  and  why  ?  Be 
cause  that  by  His  blood  He  washes  away  the  filth 
of  our  souls  ;  because  that  by  the  virtue  of  His 
blood,  He  quickens  us  in  our  souls  with  a  heavenly 
life  :  because  that  by  the  power  of  His  blood  He 
engrafts  and  incorporates  us  in  His  own  body. 
For  that  sacrament  is  a  testimony  of  the  re 
mission  of  our  sins :  that  is,  of  the  cleanness 
of  our  conscience,  that  our  consciences  by  that 
blood  are  washed  inwardly.  It  testifies  also  our 
new  birth,  that  we  are  begotten  spiritually  to  a 
heavenly  life.  It  testifies  further  the  joining  of 


THE  LORD  S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR    49 

us  to  the  body  of  Christ.  As  it  is  a  testimony, 
so  it  is  a  seal  :  it  not  only  testifies,  but  seals 
it  up  in  our  hearts,  and  makes  us  in  our  hearts 
to  feel  the  taste  of  that  heavenly  life  begun  in  us, 
that  we  are  translated  from  death,  in  which  we 
were  conceived  and  engrafted,  into  the  body  of 
Christ.  Mark  then  :  Christ  in  his  blood,  as  He 
is  the  lavcr  of  our  regeneration,  is  the  thing 
signified  in  Baptism. 

In  this  Sacrament  of  the  Supper,  again,  this 
same  Christ  is  the  thing  signified,  in  another 
respect;  to  wit  in  this  respect,  that  His  body  and 
blood  serve  to  nourish  my  soul  to  life  everlasting  : 
for  this  Sacrament  is  no  other  thing  than  the 
image  of  our  spiritual  nutriment  ;  God  testifying 
how  our  souls  are  fed  and  nourished  to  that 
heavenly  life,  by  the  figure  of  a  corporal  nourish 
ment.  So  in  diverse  respects  the  same  thing, 
that  is,  Christ  Jesus,  is  signified  in  Baptism,  and 
is  signified  in  the  Supper:  In  this  Sacrament, 
the  fruits  of  Christ's  death  whereof  I  spake,  the 
virtue  of  his  sacrifice,  the  virtue  of  his  passion  ; 
I  call  not  these  fruits  and  virtues  only,  the  thing 
signified  in  the  Sacrament  of  the  Supper :  but 
rather  I  call  the  thing  signified,  that  substance 
and  that  person,  out  of  which  substance  this 
virtue  and  these  fruits  do  flow  and  proceed.  I 
grant,  and  it  is  most  certain,  that  by  the  lawful 
use  and  participation  of  the  sacrament,  thou  art 
partaker  of  all  these  fruits  :  yet  these  fruits  are 
not  the  first  and  chief  thing,  whereof  thou  art 
partaker  in  this  sacrament ;  but  of  necessity  thou 
D 


50  THE   SECOND    SERMON 

must  get  another  thing  first.  It  is  true  that  no 
man  can  be  partaker  of  the  substance  of  Christ, 
but  the  same  soul  must  be  also  partaker  of  the 
fruits  that  flow  from  His  substance  :  yet  notwith 
standing,  thou  must  discern  betwixt  the  substance 
and  the  fruits  that  flow  from  it,  and  thou  must  be 
partaker  of  the  substance  in  the  first  place  ;  then 
in  the  next  place,  thou  must  be  partaker  of  the 
fruits  that  flow  from  His  substance.  To  make 
this  clear  ;  in  Baptism,  the  fruits  are  remission 
of  our  sins,  mortification,  the  killing  of  sin,  and 
the  sealing  of  our  adoption  to  life  everlasting. 
The  substance  out  of  which  these  fruits  do  flow, 
is  the  blood  of  Christ.  You  must  here,  of 
necessity,  discern  between  the  blood,  which  is  the 
substance ;  and  between  remission  of  sins,  washing 
and  regeneration,  which  are  the  fruits  which  flow 
from  this  blood.  Likewise  in  the  Sacrament  of 
the  Supper,  the  fruits  are,  growth  of  faith,  and 
increase  in  holiness.  The  thing  signified  is  the 
substance  ;  that  is,  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ 
is  the  substance,  out  of  which  this  growth  in  faith 
and  holiness  proceeds. 

Now  see  you  not  this  ;  That  you  must  discern 
between  the  substance  and  the  fruits,  and  must 
place  the  substance  in  the  first  place  ?  So  that 
the  substance  of  Christ ;  that  is,  Christ  Himself, 
is  the  thing  signified  in  this  sacrament.  For 
your  own  experience  will  make  this  plain  to  you. 
Before  your  stomach  be  filled  with  any  food,  you 
must  eat  the  substance  of  the  food  first :  before 
you  be  filled  with  bread,  you  must  eat  the  substance 


THE  LORD  S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR     51 

of  the  bread  first ;  before  your  thirst  be  quenched 
with  any  drink,  you  must  of  necessity  drink  the 
substance  of  the  drink  first.      Even  so,  after  this 
manner  ;  before  the  hunger  of  your  soul  be  satis 
fied,  and  the  thirst  thereof  quenched,  you  must  eat 
the  flesh  of  Christ  and  drink  His  blood  first,  and 
that  by  faith.      So  consider  the  one  by  the  other  ; 
look   to   what   use  bread    and   wine   serve    to  thy 
body,    to    the   same    use    the    body  and   blood   of 
Christ  serve  to  thy  soul  ;   and   He  that  appointed 
the   one   to   serve    for   thy   body,   the    same   God 
appointed   the   other   to  serve    for  thy  soul.      As 
impossible  as  it  is  for   thee,  to   be  fed  with  that 
food   that   never  cometh    into   thy    mouth,    or   to 
recover  health   by  those  drugs  which  never  were 
applied,  so  impossible   is   it  for  thee,  to  be  fed  by 
the  body  of  Christ  and   to  get  thy  health  by  the 
blood   of  Christ,  except   thou   first  eat  His  body 
and  drink    His   blood.      Thus  you    see,   that   the 
thing  signified   in   the   Lord's   Supper,  is  not  the 
fruits  so  much,  as  the  body  and  blood,  and  Christ 
Jesus,  the  fountain  and  substance,  from  whom   all 
these  fruits  do  flow  and  proceed. 

Therefore  I  say,  suppose  Christ  who  is  the 
thing  signified,  remain  always  one  and  the  same 
in  both  the  sacraments  :  yet  the  signs  whereby 
this  one  Christ  is  signified  in  the  sacraments, 
are  not  one,  nor  of  an  equal  number.  For  in 
Baptism  the  thing  that  representeth  Christ  is 
Water.  In  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  things  that 
represent  Christ,  are  Bread  and  Wine.  Water 
is  appointed  to  represent  Christ  in  Baptism, 


52  THE   SECOND    SERMON 

because  it  is  meetest  to  represent  our  washing 
with  the  blood  of  Christ  :  for  what  is  fitter  to 
wash  with  than  water  ?  So  there  is  nothing 
meeter  to  wash  the  soul,  than  the  blood  of  Christ. 
In  this  Sacrament  he  has  appointed  Bread  and 
Wine :  why  ?  Because  there  is  nothing  more 
meet  to  nourish  the  body  than  bread  and  wine ; 
so  the  Lord  has  not  chosen  these  signs  without  a 
reason.  As  the  signs  in  the  sacraments  are  not 
always  one,  so  the  signs,  in  both,  are  not  of  one 
number:  For  in  Baptism,  we  have  but  one  ele 
ment;  in  this  Sacrament,  we  have  two.  Now 
what  is  the  reason  of  this  diversity,  that  the  Lord 
in  the  one  sacrament  hath  appointed  two  signs, 
and  in  the  other  but  one  sign  ?  I  will  shew  you 
the  reason.  He  hath  appointed  only  one  sign  in 
Baptism,  to  wit,  Water;  because  Water  is  sufficient, 
enough  for  the  whole.  If  Water  had  not  been 
sufficient  to  represent  the  thing  signified,  He 
would  have  appointed  another  sign  :  but  in  re 
spect  that  Water  does  the  turn,  and  represents 
fully  the  washing  of  our  souls  by  the  blood  of 
Christ,  what  need  then  have  we  of  any  other 
sign  ?  Now  in  this  Sacrament  one  sign  will  not 
suffice,  but  there  must  be  two.  And  why  ? 
Wine  cannot  be  sufficient  alone,  neither  can 
Bread  be  sufficient  alone  :  for  he  that  has  Bread 
only,  or  Wine  only,  has  not  a  perfect  corporal 
nutriment ;  therefore  that  they  might  represent 
and  let  us  see  a  perfect  nutriment,  He  has  given 
us  both  Bread  and  Wine  (for  the  perfect  corporal 
nourishment  consists  in  meat  and  drink)  to  repre- 


THK  LORDS  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR     53 

sent  the  full  and  perfect  nourishment  of  the  soul. 
Mark  how  full  and  perfect  a  nourishment,  he  has 
to  his  body,  that  has  store  of  Bread  and  Wine  : 
so  he  that  has  Christ  lacks  nothing  of  a  full  and 
perfect  nourishment  for  his  soul.  Thus  you  see 
the  reason  wherefore  there  are  two  signs  appointed 
in  this  Sacrament,  and  only  one  sign  in  Baptism. 

There  remain  yet  concerning  these  signs,  two 
things  to  be  enquired.  First,  what  power  has 
that  Bread  in  this  Sacrament,  to  be  a  sign  more 
than  the  bread  which  is  used  in  common  houses. 
Whence  comes  that  power  ?  Next,  if  it  have  a 
power,  how  long  endures  and  remains  that  power 
with  the  bread  ?  For  the  first,  concerning  the 
power  which  that  bread  has  more  than  any  other 
bread,  I  will  tell  you. 

1.  That  Bread  has  a  power  given  to  it  by 
Christ  and  by  His  institution ;  by  the  which 
institution  it  is  appointed  to  signify  His  body, 
to  represent  His  body,  and  to  deliver  His  body. 
That  Bread  has  a  power  flowing  from  Christ  and 
His  institution,  which  other  common  bread  has 
not :  so  that  if  any  of  you  would  ask,  when  the 
Minister  in  this  action  is  breaking  or  distributing 
that  Bread,  pouring  out  and  distributing  that 
Wine ;  if  you  would,  I  say,  ask  what  sort  of 
creatures  those  are  ?  This  is  the  answer  :  They 
are  holy  things.  You  must  give  this  name  to 
the  signs  and  seals  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ.  That  Bread  of  the  Sacrament  is  a  holy 
Bread  ;  and  that  Wine  is  an  holy  Wine  :  Why  ? 
Because  the  blessed  institution  of  Christ,  has 


54  THE   SECOND   SERMON 

severed  them  from  that  use  whereunto  they 
served  before,  and  has  applied  them  to  an  holy 
use ;  not  to  feed  the  body,  but  to  feed  the  soul. 
Thus  far  concerning  the  power  of  that  Bread  : 
it  has  a  power  flowing  from  Christ  and  His 
institution. 

2.  Now  the  second  thing  is,  how  long  this 
power  continues  with  that  Bread  ;  how  long  that 
Bread  has  this  office.  In  a  word,  I  say,  this 
power  continues  with  that  Bread  during  the 
time  of  the  action ;  during  the  service  of  the 
Table.  Look  how  long  that  action  continues, 
and  the  service  of  the  Table  lasts,  so  long  it 
continues  holy  Bread  ;  so  long  continues  the 
power  with  that  Bread  :  but  look  how  soon  the 
action  is  ended,  so  soon  ends  the  holiness  of  it : 
look  how  soon  the  service  of  the  Table  is  ended ; 
so  soon  that  Bread  becomes  common  bread  again, 
and  the  holiness  of  it  ceases.  Therefore  this 
power  continues  not  for  ever,  but  it  continues 
only  during  the  time  of  the  action  and  service 
of  the  Table.  Thus  far  concerning  the  elements. 
There  is,  besides  the  elements,  another  sort  of 
sign  in  the  sacrament :  there  is  not  a  rite  nor 
ceremony  in  the  Sacrament  of  the  Supper,  but  is 
a  sign,  and  has  its  own  spiritual  signification  with 
it :  as  namely,  looking  to  the  breaking  of  that 
Bread,  it  represents  to  thee  the  breaking  of  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ.  Not  that  His  body  was 
broken  in  bone  or  lith,  but  that  it  was  broken 
with  dolour,  with  anguish  and  distress  of  heart ; 
with  the  weight  of  the  indignation  and  fury  of 


THE  LORD  S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR     55 

God,  that  He  sustained  for  our  sins  which  He  took 
upon  him.  Therefore  the  breaking  is  an  essential 
ceremony  :  the  pouring  out  of  the  wine  also  is  an 
essential  ceremony.  For  as  you  see  clearly,  that 
by  the  Wine  is  signified  the  blood  of  Christ,  so  by 
the  pouring  out  of  the  Wine,  is  signified  that  His 
blood  was  severed  from  His  flesh;  and  the  severing 
of  those  two  makes  death:  for  in  blood  is  the  life; 
and  consequently  it  testifies  His  death.  The  pour 
ing  out  of  the  Wine,  therefore,  tells  thee  that  He 
died  for  thee,  that  His  blood  was  shed  for  thee  ;  so 
this  is  an  essential  ceremony  which  must  not  be  left 
out.  Likewise  the  distribution,  giving  and  eating 
of  that  bread  are  essential  ceremonies.  And  what 
does  the  eating  testify  to  thee?  The  applying  of 
the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  to  thy  soul.  So 
that  there  is  none  of  these  rites  but  have  their 
own  signification  ;  and  there  cannot  one  of  them 
be  left  out,  but  you  shall  pervert  the  whole  action. 
Thus  far  concerning  the  signs. 

Now  what  profit  can  you  make  of  all  this  dis 
course  ?  Learn  this  lesson,  and  you  shall  make 
your  profit  of  these  things.  In  respect  that  every 
sign  and  ceremony  has  its  own  spiritual  signifi 
cation,  so  there  is  not  a  ceremony  in  this  whole 
action  that  wants  spiritual  significance.  Take 
this  into  consideration,  and  think  with  yourselves 
at  that  time,  especially,  when  you  are  at  the  Lord's 
Table,  and  in  the  sight  of  that  action.  Look 
what  thou  seest  the  minister  doing  outwardly, 
whatever  it  be  ;  is  he  breaking  that  Bread  ?  Is  he 
dealing  that  Bread  ?  Is  he  pouring  out  that  Wine 


56  THE    SECOND    SERMON 

and  distributing  that  Wine  ?  Think  assuredly 
with  thyself,  that  Christ  is  as  busy  doing  all  these 
things  spiritually  to  thy  soul.  He  is  as  busy 
giving  to  thee  His  own  body  with  His  own  hand: 
He  is  as  busy  giving  to  thee  His  own  blood  with 
the  virtue  and  efficacy  of  it.  Likewise,  in  this 
action,  (if  thou  be  a  faithful  communicant)  look 
what  the  mouth  is  doing  and  how  the  mouth  of 
the  body  is  occupied  outwardly  :  so  is  the  hand 
and  mouth  of  the  soul  (which  is  faith)  occupied 
inwardly.  As  the  mouth  takes  that  Bread  and 
that  Wine ;  so  the  mouth  of  thy  soul  takes  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ,  and  that  by  faith.  For 
by  faith  and  a  constant  persuasion,  is  the  only 
way  to  eat  the  body  and  drink  the  blood  of  Christ 
inwardly  :  and  doing  this,  there  cannot  but  follow 
a  fruitful  manducation.  Thus  far  for  the  con 
sideration  of  the  signs. 

Now  comes  in  the  matter  wherein  greatest 
difficulty  stands,  whereof  I  spake  the  last  day,  as 
God  gave  me  the  grace ;  yet  in  the  particular  1 
must  speak,  as  well  as  in  the  general ;  but  some 
what  more  shortly.  Then,  for  the  better  infor 
mation  of  your  consciences  ;  and  for  the  better 
preparation  of  your  souls  you  have  to  understand, 
how  that  Bread  and  that  Wine  which  are  signs, 
are  coupled  with  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ 
which  are  signified  thereby  :  what  sort  of  con 
junction  this  is,  and  whence  it  flows.  I  shall 
be  brief ;  because  I  have  already,  last  day,  spoken 
of  it  at  large. 

Take  heed,  for  if  you  give  not  good  attention, 


THE  LORD  S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR     57 

it  is  not  possible  that  you  can  take  it  up  rightly. 
Concerning  this  conjunction,  would  you  know  how 
these  two  are  coupled  ?  Then,  must  you  first 
mark  the  nature  of  the  signs,  next,  the  nature  of 
the  thing  signified  ;  you  must  observe  both  their 
natures ;  and  why  ?  Because  nothing  can  be 
coupled  nor  conjoined  with  another,  but  so  far 
as  the  nature  of  it  will  sutler.  If  the  nature  of  it 
will  not  suffer  a  conjunction,  they  cannot  be 
conjoined.  Again  will  the  nature  of  it  suffer  a 
conjunction?  look  how  for  it  will  go,  so  far  are 
they  conjoined.  Seeing  then  you  must  observe 
the  nature  of  the  things,  first  mark  the  tiling 
signified,  what  the  nature  thereof  is ;  marking 
that,  you  shall  see  that  the  thiog  signified  is  of 
a  spiritual  nature,  of  a  heavenly  and  mystical 
nature:  then  may  you  conclude,  that  this  spiritual 
thing  will  suffer  a  spiritual  conjunction,  a  mystical 
and  secret  conjunction. 

Again,  observe  the  sign  :  The  sign  of  its  own 
nature,  (as  I  told  you  at  the  beginning)  has  a 
relation  to  the  thing  signified  :  and  the  thing 
signified,  of  its  own  nature  has  a  relation  to  the 
sign.  So  then  the  sign  and  the  thing  signified 
will  suffer  to  be  conjoined  by  a  mutual  relation  : 
both  will  suffer  themselves  to  be  conjoined  by  a 
relative  conjunction.  Now  if  you  ask  me  what 
sort  of  conjunction  there  is  between  that  Bread 
and  Wine  and  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  : 
to  tell  you  in  a  word,  I  say,  it  is  a  secret  and 
spiritual  conjunction.  You  would  not  be  so 
inquisitive  of  this  conjunction  if  it  were  corporeal, 


58  THE   SECOND    SERMON 

visible,  or  local :  if  you  saw  them  both  before 
your  eyes,  you  would  not  ask  how  they  are 
conjoined  ;  or  if  you  saw  them  both  in  one 
place.  But  because  you  see  only  the  one  with 
your  eyes,  and  the  other  is  hid  ;  this  makes  the 
conjunction  the  more  difficult  to  be  uttered  and 
understood.  And  how  is  it  possible  that  you 
can  conceive  this  secret  and  hidden  conjunction, 
except  you  have  the  eyes  of  your  mind  illumi 
nated  by  the  Spirit,  whereby  you  may  come  to 
the  right  understanding  of  it  ?  But  if  you  have 
any  insight  into  these  spiritual  matters,  which 
comes  by  faith,  this  conjunction  will  appear  as 
clearly  to  the  eye  of  your  faith,  as  the  physical 
conjunction  does  to  the  eye  of  your  body. 

Now,  to  have  this  matter  made  more  plain. 
There  is  another  conjunction  which  serves  to 
make  this  one  very  clear  :  namely,  the  conjunction 
betwixt  the  word  which  I  speak,  and  the  thing 
signified  by  that  same  word.  Speak  I  to  you 
of  things  in  a  language  which  you  understand, 
as  by  God's  grace  you  understand  this  language 
now ;  speak  I  of  things  past,  though  never  so 
long  since ;  of  things  to  come,  though  never 
so  far  off;  of  things  absent,  though  never  so 
far  distant ;  yet  so  soon  as  I  speak  the  word, 
whether  it  be  of  things  past  or  to  come,  the 
thing  itself  will  come  into  your  mind.  The 
word  is  heard  no  sooner  by  your  ear,  but  the 
thing  signified  by  the  same  word  comes  into 
your  mind.  What  makes  the  thing  signified, 
though  absent,  to  come  into  my  mind  ?  This 


THE  LORD  S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR    59 

could  not  be,  except  there  were  a  conjunction 
between  the  word  and  the  thing  signified  by 
the  word.  As  for  example  ;  if  I  speak  of  the 
King  who  is  now  a  great  way  ("  a  good  piece  ") 
distant  from  us,  (I  pray  God  save  him  !)  you 
will  no  sooner  hear  the  word,  but  the  King 
who  is  the  thing  signified  by  the  word,  will 
come  into  your  mind.1  If  I  speak  of  things  past, 
though  they  be  already  expired,  yet  the  thing 
signified  will  presently  come  into  your  mind  : 
so  there  is  a  conjunction  you  see,  between  the 
word  and  the  thing  signified  by  the  word. 
Mark  it,  and  you  shall  get  the  nature  of  the 
coupling  of  the  sign  with  the  thing  signified 
in  the  sacrament. 

For  observe  what  sort  of  conjunction  is  between 
the  word  and  the  thing  signified  by  the  word, 
the  same  is  there  between  the  sacrament  which 
is  seen  by  the  eye  of  your  body,  and  the  thing 
signified  by  the  sacrament,  which  is  seen  by 
the  eye  of  your  soul  only.  As  for  example ; 
so  soon  as  you  see  that  Bread  taken  in  the  hand 
of  the  minister,  immediately  must  the  body  of 
Christ  come  into  your  mind  ;  these  two  are  so 
conjoined,  that  they  come  both  together :  the 
one  to  the  outward  sense  ;  the  other  to  the 
inward  sense.  And  even  this  is  not  enough  ; 
for  in  the  institution  you  are  commanded  to 

1  This  reads  as  if  the  King  were  already  abroad  ;  but  he  did 
not  leave  for  Norway  till  the  22nd  Oct.  1589.  The  date  of  the 
discourse  may  be  mistaken  ;  or  the  reference  may  only  be  to  his 
absence  in  the  North  of  Scotland. — ED. 


60  THE   SECOND    SERMON 

go  further ;  not  only  to  look  to  that  Bread 
and  Wine,  but  to  take  that  Bread  and  Wine  : 
immediately  as  your  hands  take  the  one,  your 
heart  takes  the  other ;  as  your  teeth  eat  the 
one,  the  teeth  of  your  soul,  which  is  faith,  eats 
the  other  ;  that  is,  applies  Christ  to  your  soul. 
So  you  see  there  is  a  conjunction  here,  secret 
and  mystical  :  and  therefore  Christ  cannot  be 
received  but  in  a  secret  and  mystical  way.  The 
conjunction  between  Christ  and  us  is  one  which 
the  Apostle  (Ephes.  v.)  calls  that  spiritual  con 
junction,  full  of  an  high  mystery.  This  con 
junction  cannot  be  taken  up  at  the  first ;  So 
seeing  the  conjunction  is  secret  and  spiritual 
and  not  perceived  but  by  the  Spirit  of  God ; 
all  is  as  nothing,  except  you  have  some  portion 
and  measure  of  His  Spirit.  All  that  is  taught 
in  the  word  and  sacraments  will  never  do  you 
good,  will  never  carry  your  soul  to  heaven,  except 
the  Spirit  of  God  illuminate  your  minds,  and 
make  you  to  find  in  your  souls  the  thing  that 
you  hear  in  the  word.  Therefore,  let  us  learn 
this  ;  seeing  the  word  cannot  be  understood  but 
by  the  Spirit  of  God,  let  us  crave  that  the  Lord 
would  illuminate  the  eyes  of  your  minds  by  His 
Spirit ;  and  be  you  as  careful  to  get  the  Spirit 
as  you  are  careful  now,  in  the  hearing  of  the 
word.  Thus  far  concerning  the  conjunction. 

Now  you  have  heard  how  the  sign  is  conjoined 
to  the  thing  signified.  It  remains  yet  for  you 
to  know  how  the  sign  is  received,  and  how  the 
thing  signified  is  received ;  whether  they  be  both 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR    61 

received  with  one  mouth  or  not ;  whether  the 
sign  and  the  thing  signified  be  received  after 
one  fashion  and  manner  or  not.  And  marking 
the  diverse  manner  of  receiving,  and  the  diversity 
of  the  instruments,  you  shall  not  easily  err  in 
the  sacrament.  The  sign,  and  the  thing  signified, 
are  received  by  two  mouths  :  for  you  see  the 
signs,  that  is,  bread  and  wine,  to  what  they 
are  given  ;  they  are  given  to  the  mouth  of  the 
body.  So  the  mouth  of  the  body  is  the  instrument 
to  receive  the  bread  and  wine,  which  are  the 
signs.  As  the  Bread  and  Wine  are  visible  and 
corporeal  :  so  the  mouth  or  instrument  whereby 
they  are  received,  is  visible  and  corporeal.  The 
thing  signified  by  the  bread  and  wine  is  not 
received  by  the  mouth  of  the  body  :  no,  the 
Scripture  denies  that  plainly  ;  but  it  is  received 
by  the  mouth  of  the  soul  :  There  are  two 
mouths  :  the  broad  anil  wine  which  are  the 
signs,  are  received  by  the  mouth  of  the  body  : 
Christ,  who  is  the  thing  signified,  is  received 
by  the  mouth  of  the  soul ;  that  is,  by  a  true 
faith.  So  bring  not  to  the  Lord's  Table  one 
mouth  only,  (for  if  ye  bring  the  mouth  of  your 
body  only,  all  is  wrong  !)  but  bring  with  you  also 
the  mouth  of  the  soul, — a  constant  persuasion 
in  the  death  of  Christ, — and  all  goes  well. 

Now  as  to  the  manner  how  the  signs  are 
received,  and  the  fashion  how  the  thing  signified 
is  received,  you  may  easily  know  that  these 
corporeal  and  natural  signs  must  be  received 
after  a  corporeal  and  natural  manner  :  They 


62  THE   SECOND    SERMON 

must  be  taken  with  the  hand  or  mouth  of  the 
body.  Again,  a  supernatural  thing  must  be  re 
ceived  after  a  supernatural  manner  :  a  spiritual 
thing  must  be  received  after  a  spiritual  manner. 
So  as  the  signs  are  corporeal,  and  received  after 
a  corporeal  manner,  with  the  hand  or  the  mouth 
of  the  body  ;  in  like  manner,  the  thing  signified 
is  spiritual,  and  received  after  a  spiritual  manner 
with  the  hand  and  mouth  of  the  soul,  which 
is  true  faith.  Thus  you  have,  briefly  delivered 
to  you,  the  whole  preparation  that  is  necessary 
for  the  understanding  of  the  sacrament. 

Now  what  doctrine  gather  I  from  this  ?  Of 
the  last  point,  where  I  say  that  Christ  is  the 
thing  signified,  and  cannot  be  perceived  but  by 
faith,  cannot  be  received  nor  digested  but  by  a 
faithful  soul  :  what  kind  of  perception  establish  I 
in  this  sacrament  1  I  establish  no  kind  of  per 
ception  of  Christ  but  a  spiritual  perception.  He 
cannot  be  perceived  nor  received  but  by  faith,  and 
faith  is  spiritual  :  therefore  in  the  sacrament  I 
establish  only  a  spiritual  perception  of  Christ  ; 
and  not  an  oral,  carnal  or  fleshly  perception. 
This  is  the  ground  ;  now  let  us  see  what  in 
convenience  can  follow  upon  this  ground.  The 
Papists  say,  that  upon  this  ground  this  incon 
venience  shall  follow  :  If  there  be  no  perception 
of  Christ  but  a  spiritual  perception,  then  (say 
they)  your  sacrament  is  in  vain  ;  this  sacrament 
of  the  Supper  was  instituted  to  no  end.  And 
what  is  their  reason  ?  If  there  be  no  way  to 
receive  Christ  (say  the  Papists)  but  by  faith, 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR    63 


what  need  have  you  of  a  sacrament  ?  You 
receive  Christ  by  faith  in  the  word  :  by  the 
naked  and  simple  preaching  of  the  word,  you 
get  faith.  So  the  simple  word  may  serve  the 
turn.  What  need  have  you  of  a  sacrament,  if 
you  get  not  some  new  thing  in  the  sacrament, 
which  you  could  not  get  in  the  word  ? 

This  is  their  argument ;  whereof  ye  see  their 
conclusion  to  be  this :  We  get  no  other  new 
thing  in  the  sacrament  than  we  do  in  the  word, 
if  there  be  no  perception  but  spiritual.  Ergo,  the 
sacrament,  is  superfluous. 

We  admit  the  antecedent  to  be  true  ;  we  get 
no  other  thing,  nor  no  new  thing  in  the  sacra 
ment,  but  the  same  thing  which  we  got  in  the 
word.  I  would  have  thee  devise  and  imagine 
with  thyself,  what  new  thing  thou  wonkiest  have  : 
let  the  heart  of  man  devise,  imagine,  and  wish  ; 
he  durst  never  have  thought  to  have  such  a  thing 
as  the  Son  of  God  ;  he  durst  never  have  presumed, 
to  have  pierced  the  clouds,  to  have  ascended  so 
high,  as  to  have  craved  the  Son  of  God  in  His 
flesh,  to  be  the  food  of  his  soul.  Having  the  Son 
of  God,  thou  hast  Him  who  is  the  heir  of  all 
things  ;  who  is  King  of  heaven  and  earth  ;  and 
in  Him  thou  hast  all  things.  What  more  then 
canst  thou  wish  ?  What  better  thing  canst  thou 
wish  ?  He  is  equal  with  the  Father,  one  in 
substance  with  the  Father,  true  God,  and  true 
man,  what  more  canst  thou  wish  ?  Therefore,  I 
say,  we  get  no  other  thing  in  the  sacrament  than 
we  had  in  the  word  :  content  thee  with  this. 


64  THE   SECOND    SERMON 

But  suppose  it  be  so  ;  yet  the  sacrament  is  not 
superfluous.  For  wouldest  thou  understand  what 
new  thing  thou  obtainest,  what  other  thing  tbou 
gettest  ?  I  will  tell  thee.  Suppose  thou  get  that 
same  thing  which  thou  hadst  in  the  word,  yet 
thou  gettest  that  same  thing  better.  What  is 
that  better  ?  Thou  obtainest  a  greater  and  surer 
hold  of  that  same  thing  in  the  sacrament,  than 
thou  hadst  by  the  hearing  of  the  word.  That 
same  thing  which  thou  possessedst  by  the  hearing 
of  the  word,  thou  dost  possess  now  more  largely  ; 
He  has  larger  bounds  in  thy  soul  by  the  receiving 
of  the  sacrament,  than  otherwise  He  could  have 
by  the  hearing  of  the  word  only.  Then,  wilt  thou 
ask  what  new  thing  we  get?  I  say,  we  get  this 
new  thing :  we  get  Christ  better  than  we  did 
oefore ;  we  get  the  thing  which  we  had,  more 
fully,  that  is,  with  a  surer  apprehension  than  we 
had  of  it  before  ;  we  get  a  greater  hold  of  Christ 
now.  For  by  the  sacrament  my  faith  is  nourished, 
the  bounds  of  my  soul  are  enlarged  :  and  so, 
whereas  I  had  but  a  little  hold  of  Christ  before, 
as  it  were  between  my  finger  and  my  thumb,  now 
I  get  Him  in  my  whole  hand  ;  and  still  the  more 
that  my  faith  grows,  the  better  hold  I  get  of  Christ 
Jesus.  So  the  sacrament  is  very  necessary,  if  it 
were  no  more  but  to  get  Christ  better,  and  to  get 
a  closer  apprehension  of  Him,  by  the  Sacrament 
than  we  could  have  before. 

Now  if  it  were  true  that  the  sacrament  is 
superfluous  ;  by  the  same  reason  it  should  follow 
also,  that  the  repetition  of  the  sacrament  is 


THE  LORD  S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR    65 

superfluous.  For  when  you  come  to  the  sacra 
ment  the  second  time,  you  can  get  no  other  thing 
than  you  did  the  first  time  :  when  you  come  to 
the  sacrament  the  third  time,  you  get  no  other 
thing  than  you  did  the  first  time  :  and  yet  no 
man  will  say,  that  the  third  and  second  coming 
is  a  superfluous  tiling.  And  why  ?  Because  by 
the  second  coming  my  faith  is  augmented.  I 
understand  better,  I  grow  in  knowledge,  in  appre 
hension,  in  feeling  :  and  getting  the  growth  of  all 
these  as  oft  as  I  come,  there  is  no  man  will  say 
that  the  oft  coming  to  the  sacrament  is  superfluous, 
even  if  it  were  once  every  day.  "So  their  first  in 
convenience  avails  not  :  "  We  get  no  new  thing 
in  the  sacrament,"  say  they  ;  Ergo  the  Sacrament 
is  superfluous.  Thus  far  for  the  first. 

Then  there  depends  another  thing  on  the  same 
ground.  If  Christ  be  not  received  but  by  faith, 
then,  say  we,  no  wicked  person  can  receive  Him  ; 
he  that  lacks  faith  cannot  receive  Him.  He  that 
lacks  faith  may  perceive  the  sacrament  of  that 
Bread  and  Wine,  and  may  eat  of  that  Bread  and 
drink  of  that  Wine  ;  but  he  that  lacks  faith,  may 
not  eat  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  signified 
by  that  Bread  and  Wine.  So  this  is  the  ground  : 
No  unbelieving  person  can  receive  Christ,  nor  eat 
the  body  of  Christ  in  the  sacrament. 

Against  this  ground  they  discharge  their 
artillery  also,  and  they  bring  their  argument 
out  of  the  same  words  of  the  Apostle  which  I 
have  read  ;  the  words  are  these  :  "  Whosoever  shall 
eat  this  Bread  (says  the  Apostle)  and  drink  the 


66  THE   SECOND    SERMON 

cup  of  the  Lord  unworthily,  shall  be  guilty  of  the 
"body  and  Hood  of  the  Lord"  There  is  their 
ground  :  So  that  their  argument  will  take  this 
form:  "No  man  can  be  guilty  of  that  thing 
which  he  has  not  received  :  they  have  not  re 
ceived  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ :  therefore 
they  cannot  be  guilty  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ :  but  so  it  is  that  the  Apostle  says,  they  are 
guilty,  therefore  they  have  received  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ."  I  answer  to  the  proposition  and 
say,  it  is  very  false  that  they  could  not  be  guilty 
of  that  body  and  blood,  except  they  had  received 
it ;  for  they  may  be  guilty  of  the  body  and  blood, 
though  they  never  received  it.  For  note  the 
text :  it  says  not,  that  they  eat  the  body  of 
Christ  unworthily ;  but  it  says  that  they  eat  that 
Bread  and  drink  that  Wine  unworthily  ;  and  yet 
because  of  this,  they  are  counted  before  God 
guilty  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ.  Now 
wherefore  is  this  ?  Nob  because  they  receive 
Him  ;  for  if  they  received  Him,  they  could  not 
but  receive  Him  worthily,  for  Christ  cannot  be 
received  of  any  man  but  worthily.  Yet  they 
are  accounted  guilty  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
the  Son  of  God,  because  they  refused  Him. 
For  when  they  did  eat  that  Bread  and  drink  that 
Wine,  if  they  had  had  faith,  they  might  have 
eaten  and  drunk  the  flesh  arid  blood  of  Christ 
Jesus.  Now  because  thou  refusest  the  body  of 
Christ,  thou  contemnest  His  body  ;  if  thou  have 
not  an  eye  to  discern  and  judge  of  His  body  that 
is  offered  thee.  For  if  they  had  had  faith,  they 


THE  LORD  S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR     G7 

might  have  seen  His  body  offered  with  the  Bread  ; 
by  faith  they  might  have  taken  and  eaten  that 
body.  Therefore  lacking  their  wedding  garment, 
— lacking  faith  whereby  they  should  eat  the  body 
and  drink  the  blood  of  Christ ;  lacking  faith, 
which  is  the  eye  of  the  soul  to  perceive,  and  the 
mouth  of  the  soul  to  receive  that  body  which  is 
spiritually  offered  ;  they  are  counted  guilty  of 
the  body  and  blood  of  Christ. 

Now  let  us  make  this  more  clear  by  a  simili 
tude.  You  see  among  worldly  Princes,  their 
custom  is  not  to  suffer  their  majesty  to  be  im 
peached  in  the  smallest  thing  that  they  have. 
What  smaller  thing  is  there  that  concerneth  the 
majesty  of  a  Prince  than  a  seal  ?  For  the  sub 
stance  of  it  is  but  wax  :  yet  if  them  disdainfully 
use  that  seal  and  contemn  it,  and  tread  it  under 
thy  feet,  thou  shalt  be  esteemed  as  guilty  of  his 
body  and  blood,  as  he  that  laid  violent  hands 
on  him,  and  thou  shalt  be  punished  accordingly. 
Much  more,  if  thou  come  as  a  swine  or  a  dog  to 
handle  the  seals  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  ; 
much  more,  I  say,  rnayest  thou  be  reckoned  guilty 
of  His  body  and  blood. 

Thus  far  of  the  eating  of  the  body  of  Christ : 
The  wicked  cannot  eat  the  body  of  Christ  ;  but 
they  may  be  guilty  of  it.  The  Apostle  makes 
this  more  plain  yet  by  another  speech  which  I 
have  aforetime  handled  from  this  place.  In  Heb. 
vi.  6,  it  is  said  that  the  apostates, — they  that 
make  grievous  defection,  —  "crucify  aydin  to 
Uieinselves  the  Son  of  God;"  and  their  falling 


68  THE   SECOND    SERMON 

away  makes  them  as  guilty  as  they  were  who 
crucified  Him.  He  is  now  in  heaven,  they  can 
not  fetch  Him  from  thence  to  crucify  Him  :  yet 
the  Apostle  says  they  crucify  Him.  Why  ?  Be 
cause  their  malice  is  as  great  as  theirs  that  cruci 
fied  Him ;  so  that  if  they  had  Him  on  the  earth, 
they  would  do  the  like  :  therefore  they  are  said 
to  crucify  the  Son  of  God.  Likewise  in  Heb.  x. 
29,  there  is  another  speech  :  the  wicked  are  said 
to  tread  the  blood  of  Christ  under  their  feet. 
Why  ?  Because  their  malice  is  as  great  as  theirs 
that  trode  upon  His  blood.  They  are  accounted 
for  this  reason  to  be  guilty  of  the  body  and  blood 
of  Christ,  not  because  they  eat  His  body,  but  be 
cause  they  refuse  it,  when  they  might  have  had  it. 
Now  the  time  remains  yet,  wherein  we  may 
have  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ.  This 
time  is  very  precious,  and  the  dispensation  of 
times  is  very  secret  and  has  its  own  bounds ;  if 
you  take  not  this  time  now,  it  will  away.  This 
time  of  grace  and  of  that  heavenly  food  has  been 
dispensed  to  you  very  long :  but  how  ye  have 
profited,  your  life  and  behaviour  testify.  Re 
member,  therefore,  yourselves  in  time,  and  in 
time  make  use  of  it,  for  you  know  not  how  long 
it  will  last :  crave  a  mouth  to  receive,  as  well 
the  food  of  your  soul  that  is  offered,  as  the 
food  of  your  bodies  :  and  take  this  time  while  you 
may  have  it,  or  assuredly  the  time  shall  come, 
when  you  shall  cry  for  it  but  shall  not  get  it ;  but 
in  place  of  grace  and  mercy,  shall  come  judgment, 
vengeance,  and  the  dispensation  of  wrath. 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR    69 


They  will  not  leave  this  matter  so,  but  they 
insist  yet,  and  they  bring  more  arguments  to 
prove  that  the  wicked  are  partakers  of  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ ;  "  That  bread  (say  they)  ye 
will  grant  which  the  wicked  man  eats  is  not 
naked  bread,  but  is  that  bread  which  is  the 
sacrament."  Thus  then  they  make  their  argu 
ment  ;  "The  sacrament  has  ever  conjoined  with 
it,  the  thing  signified  :  But  the  sacrament  is 
given  to  all,  therefore  the  thing  signified  is  given 
to  all." 

What  if  I  grant  to  them  all  this  argument  ? 
There  should  no  inconvenience  follow.  For  the 
thing  signified  may  be  given  to  all  ;  that  is, 
offered  to  all,  as  it  is  offered  to  all  men,  and  yet 
not  received  of  all.  Given  to  all,  therefore  re 
ceived  of  all,  it  follows  not.  I  may  offer  you 
two  things  ;  yet  it  is  in  your  own  will,  whether 
you  will  take  them  or  no  ;  but  you  may  take  the 
one  and  refuse  the  other  :  and  yet  He  that  offers, 
offered  you  the  thing  that  you  refused,  as  truly  as 
the  thing  which  you  took.  So  God  deceives  no 
man  :  but  with  the  word  and  sacraments  assuredly 
He  gives  two  things,  if  they  would  take  them. 
By  His  word  He  offers  the  word  to  the  ear,  He 
offers  Christ  to  the  soul.  By  His  sacraments  He 
offers  the  sacraments  to  the  eye  ;  to  the  soul  He 
offers  Christ  Jesus. 

Now  it  may  be,  that  where  two  things  are 
truly  and  conjointly  offered,  a  man  may  receive 
the  one  and  refuse  the  other.  He  receives  the 
one,  because  he  has  an  instrument  to  take  it :  he 


70  THE   SECOND    SERMON 

refuses  the  other  because  he  lacks  an  instrument. 
I  hear  the  word,  because  I  have  an  ear  to  hear  it 
with  :  1  receive  the  sacrament,  because  I  have  a 
mouth  to  receive  it  with  :  but  as  for  the  thing 
which  the  word  and  sacraments  represent,  I  may 
refuse  it ;  because  I  have  not  a  mouth  to  take  it, 
nor  an  eye  to  perceive  it :  and  therefore  the  fault 
is  not  upon  God's  part,  but  upon  our  part.  The 
wicked  get  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  offered  to 
them  conjointly  with  the  word  and  sacraments ; 
but  the  fault  is  on  their  part,  that  they  have  not 
a  mouth  to  take  Him,  and  God  is  not  bound  to 
give  them  a  mouth.  Mark  this  :  That  if  it  were 
not  of  God's  special  grace  and  mercy,  that  He  gives 
me  an  eye  to  perceive  Him,  and  a  mouth  to  re 
ceive  Him,  I  would  refuse  Him  as  well  as  they. 
So  this  argument  holds  not :  "  Christ  is  offered  to 
all ;  Ergo,  he  is  received  of  all."  Happy  were 
they,  if  they  could  receive  Him.  Thus  far  for 
the  third  argument. 

What  remains  now  for  the  full  understanding 
of  the  sacrament  ?  These  things  remain  ;  That 
we  understand  the  sacramental  speeches  in  the 
sacrament  :  for  we  used  to  speak  of  them  :  God 
uses  to  speak  of  them  :  and  the  ancients  used  to 
speak  of  them.  We  used  to  say,  that  the  soul 
eats  the  body  of  Christ,  and  drinks  the  blood  of 
Christ.  These  speeches  should  be  opened  to  you, 
how  the  soul  is  said  to  eat  the  body  and  drink 
the  blood  of  Christ.  And  I  shall  make  this  plain 
by  God's  grace.  These  words  are  sacramental ; 
what  is  that  ?  Eating  and  drinking  as  you  know 


THE  LORDS  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR     71 

are  the  proper  actions  of  the  body  only.  But 
they  are  ascribed  to  the  soul  by  a  translation,  by 
a  figurative  manner  of  speaking.  That  which  is 
proper  to  the  body,  is  ascribed  to  the  soul,  and  it 
is  said  that  the  soul  eats  and  drinks.  The  eating 
of  the  soul  must  resemble  the  eating  of  the  body  : 
for  it  is  no  other  thing  than  the  applying  of  Christ 
to  the  soul ;  to  believe  that  He  has  shed  His  blood 
for  me,  that  He  lias  purchased  remission  of  sins 
for  me  ;  Wherefore,  then,  call  you  this  an  eating  ? 
Thy  body  eats  when  thou  appliest  the  meat  to  thy 
mouth.  If  then  the  eating  of  the  body  be  no 
other  thing,  than  the  applying  of  the  meat  to  the 
mouth  ;  the  eating  of  the  soul  must  be  no  other 
thing,  than  the  applying  of  the  nourishment  to  the 
soul.  So  you  see  what  is  meant  by  the  eating 
and  drinking  of  the  soul  :  no  other  thing  than  the 
applying  of  Christ, — the  applying  of  His  death  and 
passion  to  my  soul  ;  and  this  is  only  done  by  faith  : 
therefore  He  that  lacks  faith  cannot  eat  Christ. 
Thus  far,  for  the  eating  and  drinking  of  the  soul, 
which  are  sacramental  expressions. 

There  remains  now,  of  all  these  great  things, 
and  of  all  this  doctrine  which  has  been  taught, 
but  this  one  lesson.  Learn  to  apply  Christ  rightly 
to  thy  soul  and  thou  hast  won  all ;  thou  art  a 
great  theologian,  if  thou  hast  learned  this  well : 
for  in  the  right  application  of  Christ  to  the  sick 
soul,  to  the  wounded  conscience,  and  diseased 
heart,  here  begins  the  fountain  of  all  our  felicity, 
and  the  well-spring  of  all  our  joy.  And  I  shall 
tell  you  what  this  application  works :  Observe 


72  THE   SECOND   SERMON 

what  the  presence  of  thy  soul  within  thee  (sup 
pose  thou  want  Christ  in  thy  soul)  does  to  this 
earthly  body,  to  this  lump  of  clay ;  as  by  the 
presence  of  the  soul,  it  lives,  it  moves,  it  feels  : 
as  the  soul  gives  to  the  body,  life,  moving,  and 
senses  :  that  very  same  thing  does  Christ  to  thy 
soul.  Hast  thou  once  laid  hold  of,  and  applied 
Him  to  thee  ?  As  the  soul  quickens  the  body, 
so  He  quickens  the  soul ;  not  with  an  earthly  or 
temporal  life,  but  with  the  life  which  He  lives 
in  heaven  :  He  makes  thee  to  live  that  same 
life,  which  the  angels  live  above  :  He  makes  thee 
to  move,  not  with  worldly  motions,  but  with 
heavenly,  spiritual  and  celestial  motions.  Again, 
He  inspires  in  thee,  not  outward  senses,  but 
heavenly  senses  ;  He  works  in  thee  a  spiritual 
feeling,  that  in  thine  own  heart  and  conscience, 
thou  mayest  find  the  effect  of  this  word.  So  by 
the  conjunction  of  Christ  with  my  soul,  I  get  a 
thousand  times  a  greater  benefit  than  the  body 
does  by  the  soul :  for  the  body,  by  the  presence 
of  the  soul,  gets  only  an  earthly  and  temporal 
life,  subject  to  continual  misery ;  but  by  the 
presence  of  Christ  in  my  soul  I  see  a  blessed 
life,  I  feel  a  blessed  life  :  and  that  same  life  makes 
daily  more  and  more  increase  in  me.  Therefore 
the  ground  of  all  our  perfection  and  blessedness, 
stands  in  this  conjunction :  and  suppose  thou 
mightest  live  Methuselah's  years,  and  wert  ever 
seeking;  yet  if  in  the  last  hour  thou  get  this 
conjunction,  thou  mayest  think  thy  labour  well  be 
stowed  ;  thou  hast  gotten  enough  :  for  if  we  have 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR    73 


obtained  Christ,  we  have  gotten  all  with  Him.  So 
the  applying  of  Christ  to  my  soul,  is  the  fountain 
of  all  my  joy  and  felicity. 

Now  let  us  see  how  we  get  this  conjunction. 
This  is  a  spiritual  conjunction,  hard  and  difficult 
to  be  procured,  obtained,  and  gotten  of  us.  How 
then  is  this  conjunction  brought  about  ?  which  are 
the  means  of  it  employed  on  God's  part  ?  and 
which  are  the  means  employed  on  our  part,  to 
get  Christ,  to  put  Christ  Jesus  in  our  souls,  and 
to  make  Christ  one  with  us  ?  There  is  one  means 
employed  on  God's  part,  that  helps  to  get  us 
Christ,  and  there  is  another  on  our  part.  Upon 
the  part  of  God,  there  is  the  Holy  Spirit  Who 
offers  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  to  me  :  Upon 
our  part,  there  must  also  be  a  means  employed,  or 
else  though  He  offer,  we  will  not  receive.  There 
fore,  of  necessity,  there  must  be  faith  in  our  souls, 
to  receive  that  heavenly  food  of  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ  which  the  Holy  Spirit  ofTers.  Thus 
faith  and  the  Holy  Spirit  are  the  two  means 
employed  in  this  spiritual,  and  heavenly  con 
junction.  By  these  two  agencies,  by  faith  and 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  I  get,  the  body  of  Christ, — 
the  body  of  Christ  is  mine,  and  He  is  given  to 
my  soul. 

Now  here  comes  in  the  question  ;  How  canst 
thou  say  that  the  body  of  Christ  is  given  or 
delivered  to  thee,  seeing  the  body  of  Christ  is 
sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  God  the  Father  ?  and 
as  great  as  is  the  distance  between  heaven  and 
earth,  so  great  distance  is  there,  betwixt  the  body 


74  THE   SECOND   SERMON 

of  Christ,  and  thy  body  :  how  then  say  you,  that 
the  body  of  Christ  is  given  to  you  ?  The  Papists 
cannot  get  this  understood  ;  and  therefore  they 
imagine  a  gross  and  carnal  conjunction.  Except 
the  Spirit  of  God  reveal  these  things,  they  cannot 
be  understood.  The  Spirit  of  God  must  illumi 
nate  our  minds,  and  be  busy  in  all  our  hearts, 
before  we  can  come  to  the  understanding  of  this. 
Then,  wouldest  thou  understand  how  Christ  is 
given  thee  ?  This  ground  is  true,  that  the  body 
of  Christ  is  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father  ;  the 
blood  of  Christ  is  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father: 
yet  notwithstanding,  though  there  be  as  great 
distance  betwixt  my  body  and  the  body  of  Christ, 
as  there  is  between  heaven  and  earth,  yet  Christ's 
body  is  given  to  me,  because  I  have  a  title  of  His 
body  given  to  me  :  the  right  and  title  which  is 
given  me,  makes  me  to  possess  His  body  and  blood. 
The  distance  of  the  place,  hurts  not  my  title  nor 
my  right  ;  for  if  any  of  you  have  a  piece  of  land 
lying  in  the  farthest  part  of  Orkney ;  if  you  have 
a  good  title  to  it,  the  distance  of  the  place  cannot 
hurt  your  title.  So  I  say,  the  distance  of  place 
hurts  not  my  right  and  title  that  I  have  to  Christ. 
For  though  He  be  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
Father,  yet  the  right  and  title  that  I  have  to  Him 
makes  Him  mine ;  so  that  I  may  say  truly,  this 
Christ  is  my  property.  Therefore  Christ  is  not 
made  mine,  because  I  fetch  Him  out  of  the 
heavens  :  but  He  is  mine  because  I  have  a  sure 
right  and  title  to  Him,  and  having  this,  the 
distance  of  place, — how  far  soever  it  be, — can 


THE  LORD  S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR     75 

no  ways  hurt  my  title  nor  my  right ;  but  where- 
ever  He  be,  He  is  mine.  Yea  not  only  so,  but 
this  title  is  confirmed  to  me  :  For  as  I  get  a 
title  to  Him  in  the  word  (and  if  I  got  not  that 
title  to  Him  in  the  word,  I  durst  not  come  to  the 
sacrament),  so  in  the  sacrament  I  get  the  con 
firmation  of  my  title,  I  got  the  seal  which  con 
firms  it. 

Then,  to  come  to  the  point ;  Christ's  body  is 
sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father,  and  yet 
He  is  mine,  and  is  delivered  to  me,  because  I 
have  right  to  His  body,  be  it  where  it  will.  He 
was  born  for  me,  given  to  me,  and  delivered  to 
me.  So  distance  of  place  hurts  not  the  sureness 
of  my  title,  as  propinquity  of  place  helps  not  the 
sureness  of  the  same.  Though  Christ  should  bow 
the  heavens,  and  touch  thee  with  His  body,  as  He 
did  Judas,  yet  this  could  not  help  thee  a  whit  ; 
for  if  thou  hast  not  a  title  to  Him,  thou  darest 
not  call  Him  thine.  So  it  is  not  the  nearness 
nor  proximity  of  place  that  makes  Christ  mine  : 
It  is  only  the  right  that  I  have  to  Him  :  I 
have  right  to  Him  by  faith  alone  :  So  by  faith 
only  is  Christ  made  mine.  Now  they  think  they 
have  gotten  a  great  advantage  of  us,  if  we  be 
so  far  from  Christ  as  the  heaven  is  from  the 
earth  ;  but  this  shall  be  answered  also,  by  God's 
grace.  I  have  a  title  to  His  body,  which  is 
distant  from  my  body  :  yet  His  body  is  not 
distant  from  me,  that  is,  from  my  soul  ;  His 
body  and  ray  soul  are  conjoined.  It  is  a  strange 
ladder  that  will  climb  from  the  earth  to  the 


76  THE   SECOND   SERMON 

heavens ;  yet  let  me  tell  you,  there  is  a  cord  that 
extends  so  far,  and  couples  me  and  Christ  to 
gether,  and  this  is  only  true  faith  :  By  true  faith, 
Christ,  though  He  be  in  the  heavens,  is  coupled 
and  conjoined  with  me  who  am  here  on  earth. 

Let  me  show  you  this  by  a  similitude.  Is  not 
the  body  of  the  Sun  in  the  firmament  ?  It  is 
impossible  for  you  to  touch  the  body  of  the  Sun ; 
yet  the  body  of  the  Sun  and  you  are  conjoined. 
How  ?  By  those  beams,  by  that  light  which 
shines  on  you  :  Why  may  not  the  body  of  Christ 
then,  though  it  be  in  the  heavens,  be  conjoined 
with  me  that  am  on  earth,  namely,  by  the  beams, 
by  the  light  and  gladness  that  flow  from  His  body  ? 
My  body  and  Christ's  body  are  conjoined  by  the 
virtue  and  power  flowing  from  His  body  :  which 
virtue  and  power  quickens  my  dead  soul,  makes 
me  to  live  the  life  of  Christ,  to  begin  to  die  to 
myself  :  and  ever  the  more  I  die  to  myself,  the 
more  I  live  to  Him.  This  conjunction  now  is 
the  ground,  as  I  told  you,  of  all  our  felicity  and 
happiness,  and  I  have  made  it  clear  to  you,  at 
this  time,  so  far  as  God  has  yet  given  me  insight. 
Nevertheless  you  see  this  conjunction  is  brought 
about  by  two  special  means;  by  means  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  by  means  of  faith :  If  there  be  no 
other  means  than  these  two,  why  era  vest  thou  a 
carnal  or  visible  conjunction  ?  Faith  is  invisible, 
and  the  Spirit  is  invisible,  therefore  thou  canst 
not  see  it,  nor  take  it  up  with  the  eye  of  thy 
body.  The  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  so  subtle, 
secret,  and  invisible,  that  thou  canst  not  perceive 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR    77 


it;  yet  He  will  work  great  effects  in  thy  soul, 
ere  ever  thou  perceivest  His  working.  In  respect 
therefore  that  the  agencies  of  this  conjunction  are 
so  subtle,  secret,  and  spiritual,  why  thinkest  thou 
to  get  a  sight  of  it  with  the  eye  of  thy  body  ? 
why  iinaginest  thou  such  a  carnal  conjunction  as 
this,  which  would  do  thee  no  good  if  thou  hadst 
it  ?  Knowest  thou  not  that  the  Spirit  who 
coupleth  us  and  Christ  is  infinite  ?  So  that  it  is 
as  easy  for  the  Spirit  to  couple  Christ  and  us, 
how  far  distant  soever  we  be,  as  it  is  easy  for  our 
souls  to  couple  the  head  and  feet  of  our  bodies, 
though  they  be  distant. 

Therefore,  seeing  this  conjunction  is  the  ground 
and  fountain  of  all  our  happiness  :  and  seeing  this 
ground  of  happiness  is  so  subtle  and  so  spiritual  ; 
what  is  your  part  ?  Remove  all  your  outward 
senses,  your  natural  notions,  your  natural  dis 
courses  and  your  natural  reason,  and  follow  the 
sight  and  information  of  the  Spirit  of  God  :  Crave 
that  it  would  please  Him  to  illuminate  your 
understanding,  that  by  the  light  of  His  Spirit  you 
may  see  clearly  the  spiritual  conjunction.  Except 
the  eye  of  the  Spirit  be  given  you,  it  is  not 
possible  that  you  can  get  any  insight  in  it.  But 
if  the  Lord  of  His  mercy  will  bestow  some  measure 
of  His  Holy  Spirit  upon  you  ;  out  of  question,  you 
shall  soon  come  to  the  understanding  of  it,  and 
shall  think  the  time  happy  that  ever  you  beard 
this  word.  Except  you  have  some  part  of  this 
Spirit,  it  is  not  possible  that  you  can  be  spiritual. 
That  which  is  born  of  flesh  and  blood  will 


78  THE   SECOND    SERMON 

remain  flesh  and  blood,  except  that  Spirit  come 
in  and  make  it  spiritual.  Therefore  you  must 
be  born  again  of  the  Spirit,  you  must  be  born 
in  the  body  of  Christ,  his  Spirit  must  quicken 
you.  This  is  called,  by  John,  the  quickening 
and  living  Spirit  of  Christ.  And  so  soon  as 
this  Spirit  comes  unto  us,  what  doth  He  ?  He 
chases  away  the  darkness  out  of  our  understand 
ing.  Whereas  before  I  knew  not  God,  now  I  see 
Him  ;  not  only  generally  that  He  is  God,  but 
that  He  is  my  God  in  Christ.  What  more  doth 
the  Holy  Spirit  ?  He  opens  the  heart  as  well  as 
the  mind :  and  what  does  He  there  ?  Those 
things,  whereon  I  bestowed  the  affections  of  my 
heart  and  employed  the  love  of  my  soul,  are  by 
the  working  of  the  Holy  Spirit  made  gall  to  me, 
He  makes  them  venom  to  me,  and  to  be  as 
deadly  hated  of  me  as  poison.  He  works  such  an 
inward  disposition  in  my  soul,  that  He  makes  me 
to  turn  and  flee  from  those  very  things  whereon 
I  employed  my  love  before,  and  to  employ  it 
on  God.  This  is  a  great  perfection  !  In  some 
measure,  He  makes  me  continually  to  love  God 
better  than  any  other  thing  :  He  changes  the 
affections  of  my  soul,  He  changes  the  faculties  and 
qualities  of  my  soul  :  And  though  our  hearts  and 
minds  be  made  new,  yet  the  substance  of  them  is 
not  changed,  but  only  the  faculties  and  qualities 
are  changed,  in  respect  of  which  change  we  are 
called  new  creatures,  and  except  you  be  found 
new  creatures,  you  are  not  in  Christ. 

Now  to  come  to  the  point.     This  secret  con- 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR    79 

junction  is  brought  about  by  faith  and  by  the 
Holy  Spirit :  by  faith  we  lay  hold  on  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ  :  And  though  we  be  as  far 
distant  as  heaven  and  earth  are,  the  Spirit  serves 
us  as  a  ladder  to  conjoin  us  with  Christ  :  As  the 
ladder  of  Jacob  which  reached  from  the  ground  to 
the  heaven,  to  the  self-same  use  serves  the  Spirit 
of  God  to  conjoin  the  body  of  Christ  with  my 
soul.  Then  observe  the  whole  in  a  word  : 
What  makes  you  to  have  any  right  or  title  to 
Christ  ?  Nothing  but  the  Spirit  :  nothing  but 
faith.  What  should  be  your  study  then  ?  Seek 
by  all  possible  means  to  get  faith  :  that  as  Peter 
(Acts  xv.  9)  says  :  "  Your  hearts  and  consciences 
may  be  sanctified  by  faith."  And  if  you 
endeavour  not  as  well  to  get  faith  in  your 
hearts  as  in  your  minds,  your  faith  avails  not. 
What  avails  the  faith  that  fleets  in  the  fantasy, 
and  brings  a  bare  knowledge,  without  the  open 
ing  of  the  heart  and  consent  of  the  will  ?  So 
there  must  be  an  opening  of  thy  heart  and  con 
sent  of  thy  will  to  do  that  thing  which  God  com 
mands,  or  else  thy  faith  avails  not.  Therefore 
strive  to  get  faith  in  your  hearts  and  minds  ;  and 
doing  so,  you  do  the  duty  of  Christians.  This  is 
not  done,  without  the  diligent  hearing  of  the  word 
and  diligent  receiving  of  the  sacraments.  There 
fore  be  diligent  in  these  exercises,  and  be  dili 
gent  in  prayer ;  praying  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 
that  He  would  nourish  your  souls  inwardly  with 
the  body  and  blood  of  Christ :  That  He  would 
increase  faith  in  your  hearts  and  minds,  and 


80  THE   SECOND   SERMON 

make  it  to  grow  up  more  and  more  daily,  until 
you  come  to  the  full  fruition  of  that  blessed 
immortality.  Unto  the  which,  the  Lord  of  His 
mercy  bring  us,  and  that  for  the  righteous  merits 
of  Christ  Jesus  :  To  whom  with  the  Father  and 
the  Holy  Ghost,  be  all  honour,  praise  and  glory, 
both  now  and  for  ever.  Amen. 


THE  THIRD  SERMON 

UPON  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR 

(Preached  the  fifteenth  of  February  1589) 

For  I  have  received  of  the  Lord,  that  which  I  also  have  delivered 
unto  you  :  to  wit,  That  the  Lord  Jesus  in  the  night  when  he  was 
betrayed,  took  Bread,  &c.— 1  Con.  xi.  23. 

WE  heard  (well-beloved  in  Christ  Jesus)  in  our 
last  lesson,  what  names  were  given  to  the  sacra 
ment  of  the  Supper,  as  well  in  the  Book  of  God 
as  by  the  ancients  of  the  Latin  and  Eastern 
Churches  :  we  heard  the  chief  ends  wherefore, 
and  whereunto  this  holy  Sacrament  was  instituted. 
We  heard  the  tilings  that  were  contained  in  this 
sacrament,  what  they  were,  how  they  are  coupled, 
how  they  are  delivered,  and  how  they  are  received. 
We  heard  also  some  objections  that  might  be 
brought  against  this  doctrine  :  we  heard  them 
propounded,  and  as  God  gave  the  grace,  refuted  : 
and  last  of  all,  we  heard  how  the  faithful  soul  is 
said  to  eat  Christ's  body,  and  drink  His  blood. 
We  heard  the  manner  how  Christ  is,  or  can 
be  received  of  us  ;  And  we  concluded  on  this 
point :  That  Christ  Jesus,  the  Saviour  of  Man 
kind,  our  Saviour,  cannot  be  perceived  nor  yet 
received,  but  by  a  spiritual  way  and  apprehension ; 
Neither  the  flesh  of  Christ,  nor  the  blood  of 

r-  81 


82  THE   THIRD    SERMON 

Christ,  nor  Christ  Himself,  can  be  perceived  but 
by  the  eye  of  faith  ;  can  be  received  but  by  the 
mouth  of  faith ;  nor  can  be  laid  hold  of  but  by 
the  hand  of  faith.  Now  faith  is  a  spiritual  thing : 
for  faith  is  the  gift  of  God,  infused  into  the  hearts 
and  minds  of  men,  wrought  in  the  soul  of  every 
one,  and  that  by  the  mighty  working  and  opera 
tion  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  So,  the  only  way  to  lay 
hold  on  Christ  being  by  faith,  and  faith  of  its  own 
nature  being  spiritual,  it  follows  that  there  is  no 
way  to  lay  hold  on  Christ  but  a  spiritual  way. 
There  is  not  a  hand  to  fasten  on  Christ  but  a 
spiritual  hand,  there  is  not  a  mouth  to  digest 
Christ  but  a  spiritual  mouth.  The  Scriptures 
familiarly,  by  all  these  terms,  describe  the  nature 
and  efficacy  of  faith. 

We  are  said  to  eat  the  flesh  of  Christ  and  to 
drink  His  blood  by  faith,  in  this  sacrament : 
chiefly  in  doing  of  two  things  :  First,  in  calling 
to  our  remembrance  the  bitter  death  and  passion 
of  Christ,  the  blood  that  He  shed  upon  the  cross, 
the  supper  which  He  instituted  in  remembrance 
of  Him,  before  He  went  to  the  cross  ;  the  Com 
mandment  which  He  gave:  "Do  this  in  re 
membrance  of  me  "  :  We  eat  his  flesh,  and  drink 
his  blood  spiritually,  first  in  this  point,  in  record 
ing  and  remembering  faithfully,  how  He  died  for 
us,  how  His  blood  was  shed  upon  the  cross. 
This  is  the  first  point,  a  point  that  cannot  be 
remembered  truly,  except  it  be  wrought  by  the 
mighty  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Second 
point  of  the  spiritual  eating  consists  in  this,  That 


THE  LORD  S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR     83 

I  and  every  one  of  you  believe  firmly,  that  He 
died  for  me  in  particular  :  That  His  blood  was 
shed  on  the  cross,  for  a  full  remission  and  redemp 
tion  of  me  and  my  sins.  The  chief  and  principal 
point  of  the  eating  of  Christ's  flesh  and  drinking 
of  His  blood,  stands  in  believing  firmly  that  that 
flesh  was  delivered  to  death  for  my  sins  ;  that 
that  blood  of  His  was  shed  for  the  remission 
of  my  sins  :  and  except  every  soul  come  near 
to  Himself,  and  firmly  consent,  agree,  and  be 
persuaded,  that  Christ  died  for  him,  that  soul 
cannot  be  saved,  that  soul  cannot  eat  the  flesh 
nor  drink  the  blood  of  Christ.  Thus  the  eating 
of  the  flesh,  and  drinking  of  the  blood  of  Christ, 
stands  in  a  faithful  memory,  in  a  firm  belief,  and 
in  a  true  applying  of  the  merits  of  the  death 
and  passion  of  Christ,  to  my  own  conscience  in 
particular. 

There  were  sundry  things  objected  against  this 
kind  of  receiving  :  I  shall  not  insist  to  repeat 
them  :  But  beside  all  the  objections  you  have 
heard  against  this  kind  of  spiritual  receiving  by 
faith,  they  say,  "  If  Christ's  flesh  and  blood  be  not 
perceived,  nor  received,  but  by  the  Spirit,  by 
faith  :  then,"  say  they,  "  you  receive  Him  only  by 
an  imagination.  If  He  be  not  received  carnally 
nor  corporally,  but  only  by  the  Spirit  and  by  faith  ; 
then  is  He  not  received  but  by  way  of  imagina 
tion,  conceit,  and  fantasy."  So  they  account  faith 
an  imagination  of  the  mind,  a  fantasy  and  opinion, 
fleeting  in  the  brains  of  men.  I  cannot  blame 
them  to  think  so  of  faith  :  For  as  none  can 


84  THE   THIRD   SERMON 

judge  of  the  sweetness  of  honey,  but  they  that 
have  tasted  it,  so  there  is  none  can  discern  nor 
judge  of  the  nature  of  faith,  but  they  that  have 
felt  and  tasted  in  their  hearts,  what  it  is.  And 
if  they  had  tasted  and  felt  in  their  souls,  what 
faith  brings  with  it ;  alas,  they  would  not  call 
that  spiritual  jewel, — that  only  jewel  of  the  soul, 
— an  imagination.  They  call  it  an  imagination  : 
and  the  Apostle  describing  it  (Heb.  xi.  1),  calls  it 
a  substance  and  a  substantial  ground  :  Mark  how 
well  these  two  agree  !  "  An  imagination,  and  a 
substantial  ground  ! "  They  call  it  an  uncertain 
opinion,  fleeting  in  the  brain  and  fantasy  of  man. 
He  calls  it  an  evidence  and  demonstration,  in  the 
same  definition.  See  how  directly  contrary  the 
Apostle  and  they  are,  as  to  the  nature  of  faith. 
Upon  this  they  infer,  that  as  it  is  true  in  general, 
Christ  cannot  be  delivered  nor  given  but  that 
same  way  that  He  is  received  ;  and,  consider,  what 
way  anything  is  received,  the  same  way  is  it  given 
and  delivered :  So  (according  to  them)  Christ 
being  received  by  way  of  imagination,  He  is  also 
in  their  fantasy,  given  and  delivered  by  way  of 
imagination.  For  if  He  be  not  given,  say  they, 
to  thy  hand,  to  thy  mouth,  nor  to  the  corporeal 
stomach  :  He  cannot  be  given  but  by  an  imagina 
tion  and  fantastical  opinion.  The  reason  that 
moves  them  to  think  that  Christ  cannot  be  theirs, 
nor  given  to  them  truly, — in  effect  and  really, — 
except  He  be  given  carnally,  is  this  :  That  thing 
which  is  so  far  absent  and  distant  from  us,  as  the 
heaven  is  from  the  earth,  cannot  be  said  to  be 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR     85 


given  us,  nor  to  be  ours.  But  by  your  own  con 
fession,  say  they  to  us,  Christ's  body  is  as  far 
absent  from  us  as  the  heaven  is  from  the  earth  : 
Therefore  Christ's  Mesh  cannot  be  given  to  us, 
except  by  way  'of  imagination,  and  so  not  truly 
nor  in  effect.  This  argument  framed  in  this  sort, 
would,  at  first  sight,  seem  to  be  of  some  force. 
But  let  us  examine  it.  The  proposition  is  this: 
That  thing  which  is  so  far  absent  from  us  as  the 
heaven  is  from  the  earth,  cannot  be  said  to  be 
delivered  to  us,  to  be  given  to  us,  or  in  any  way 
to  be  ours. 

Now  whether  is  this  proposition  true  or  false  ? 
I  say,  this  proposition  is  untrue,  and  the  contrary 
most  true.  A  thing  may  be  given  to  us,  and 
may  become  ours,  though  the  thing  in  person 
itself  be  as  distant  from  us,  as  the  heaven  is  from 
the  earth.  And  how  prove  I  this  ?  What  makes 
anything  to  be  yours  ?  What  makes  any  of  you 
esteem  a  thing  to  be  given  to  you  ?  Is  it  not  a 
title  ?  Is  it  not  a  just  right  to  that  thing  ?  If 
you  have  a  just  right  given  to  you,  by  him  who 
has  power  to  give  it,  and  a  sure  title  confirmed  to 
you  by  him  who  has  the  power ;  though  the 
thing  that  he  gives  you  be  not  delivered  into 
your  hands,  yet  by  the  right  and  title  which  he 
grants  to  you,  is  not  the  thing  yours  ?  There  is 
no  doubt  of  it,  for  it  is  not  the  nearness  of  the 
thing  to  my  body  and  to  my  hand,  that  makes 
the  thing  mine  ;  it  may  be  in  my  hand,  and  yet 
not  belong  to  me.  Neither  is  it  the  distance  nor 
absence  of  the  thing  that  makes  it  not  to  be  mine, 


86  THE   THIRD    SERMON 

for  it  may  be  far  absent  from  me  and  yet  be  mine, 
because  the  title  is  mine,  and  because  I  have  got 
my  right  to  it  from  him  who  has  the  power  to 
give  it.  So  then,  this  ground  is  true  ;  it  is  a 
sure  title  and  a  just  right  that  makes  a  thing, 
though  it  be  far  distant  from  us,  to  be  ours.  But 
so  it  is,  that  a  lively  and  true  faith  in  the  blood 
and  death  of  Christ,  makes  us  to  have  a  sure  title 
and  a  good  right  to  the  flesh  and  blood  of  Christ, 
and  to  His  merits  :  consider  what  He  merited  by 
his  death,  and  the  shedding  of  His  blood  upon 
the  cross ;  all  that  together  with  Himself  also 
appertains  to  me,  and  that  by  a  title  and  a  right 
which  I  have  gotten  to  Him,  of  God  ;  which  is 
faith  :  And  the  surer  my  title  is,  the  more  sure 
am  I  of  the  thing  that  is  given  me  by  the  title. 
Now  this  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was 
instituted  to  confirm  our  title,  to  seal  up  our  right 
which  we  have  to  the  body  and  blood,  to  the 
death  and  passion  of  Christ  :  and  so,  the  body  of 
Christ  is  said  to  be  given  to  us,  the  blood  of 
Christ  is  said  to  be  delivered  to  us,  when  our  title 
which  we  have  of  Him,  of  His  death,  of  His  body 
and  blood,  is  confirmed  in  our  hearts.  For  this 
sacrament  is  instituted  for  the  growth  and  increase 
of  our  faith,  for  the  increase  of  our  holiness  and 
sanctification  :  which  faith  the  greater  that  it  is 
in  our  hearts,  the  more  sure  are  we,  that  Christ's 
death  appertains  to  us.  I  grant,  as  I  have  said, 
that  the  flesh  of  Christ  is  not  delivered  into  my 
hands,  His  flesh  is  not  put  into  my  mouth,  nor 
enters  into  my  stomach  :  yet  God  forbid  that  thou 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR     87 


shoulclest  say,  He  is  not  truly  given,  although  not 
carnally.  And  wherefore  should  it  ?  Has  He  not 
appointed  Bread  and  Wine  for  the  nourishment  of 
the  body,  and  may  not  these  content  you  ?  Are 
they  not  sufficient  to  nourish  you  to  this  earthly 
and  temporal  life  ?  Has  He  not  appointed  Christ 
to  be  delivered  to  the  inward  mouth  of  thy  soul, 
to  be  given  into  the  hand  of  thy  soul,  that  thy 
soul  may  feed  on  Him  and  be  quickened  with  that 
life  wherewith  the  angels  live,  wherewith  the  Son 
of  God  and  God  Himself  live  ? 

So  the  flesh  of  Christ  is  not  appointed  to  nourish 
thy  body,  but  to  nourish  thy  soul  in  the  hope,  yea 
in  the  growth  of  that  immortal  life :  and  therefore 
I  say,  though  the  flesh  of  Christ  be  not  delivered 
into  the  hand  of  thy  body,  yet  it  is  delivered  to 
the  soul  which  is  that  part  that  it  should  nourish. 
Yea,  that  Bread  and  Wine  are  no  more  really 
delivered  to  the  hand  of  the  body,  than  the  flesh 
of  Christ  is  delivered  to  the  hand  and  mouth  of 
the  soul,  which  is  faith  :  Therefore  crave  no 
more  a  carnal  delivery,  nor  think  upon  a  carnal 
receiving.  Thou  must  not  think  that  either  God 
gives  the  flesh  of  Christ  to  the  mouth  of  the  body  ; 
or  that  thou  by  the  mouth  of  thy  body  receivest 
the  flesh  of  Christ :  For  you  must  understand 
this  principle  in  the  Scriptures  of  God  ;  our  souls 
cannot  be  joined  with  the  flesh  of  Christ,  nor  the 
flesh  of  Christ  with  our  souls  but  by  a  spiritual 
bond.  Not  by  a  carnal  bond  of  blood  or  alliance  ; 
not  by  the  touching  of  His  flesh  with  our  flesh  : 
but  He  is  conjoined  with  us  by  a  spiritual  bond  ; 


88  THE   THIRD    SERMON 

that  is,  by  the  power  and  virtue  of  His  Holy  Spirit. 
And  therefore  the  Apostle  says,  (1  Cor.  xii.  13) 
that  hy  the  means  of  His  Holy  Spirit,  all  we,  who 
are  faithful  men  and  women,  are  baptized  into  the 
one  body  of  Christ.  That  is,  we  are  conjoined 
and  fastened  up  with  one  Christ  by  the  means, 
says  he,  of  one  Spirit :  not  by  a  carnal  bond  or 
by  any  gross  conjunction,  but  only  by  the  bond  of 
the  Holy  Spirit. 

That  same  Holy  Spirit  that  is  in  Him,  is  in 
every  one  of  us  in  some  measure  :  and  in  respect 
one  Spirit  is  in  Him  and  in  us,  therefore  we  are 
accounted  all  to  be  members  of  one  spiritual  and 
mystical  body.  And  in  the  same  verse  the  Apostle 
says,  "  We  are  all  made  to  drink  into  one  and  the 
self-same  Spirit "  :  that  is  we  are  made  to  drink 
of  the  blood  of  Christ.  And  this  blood  is  no  other 
thing  than  the  quickening  virtue  and  power  that 
flow  from  Christ,  and  from  the  merits  of  His  death  : 
we  are  made  all  to  drink  of  that  blood,  when  we 
partake  of  the  lively  power  and  virtue  that  flow 
out  of  that  blood.  So  there  is  not  a  bond  that 
can  couple  my  soul  with  the  flesh  of  Christ,  but 
only  a  spiritual  bond  and  a  spiritual  union.  And 
therefore  it  is  that  the  Apostle  (1  Cor.  vi.  17)  says, 
"  He  that  is  joined  unto  the  Lord  is  one  Spirit." 
And  John  says  (ch.  iii.  6),  "  That  which  is  born 
of  the  Spirit,  is  spirit."  So  it  is  only  by  the 
participation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  that  we  are  con 
joined  with  the  flesh  and  blood  of  Christ  Jesus. 
That  carnal  bond,  whether  it  be  the  bond  of  blood 
running  through  one  race,  or  the  carnal  touching 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR    89 


of  flesh  with  flesh,  that  carnal  bond  was  never 
esteemed  by  Christ  In  the  time  that  He  was 
conversant  here  upon  earth,  He  respected  it 
nothing  :  for  as  He  witnessed  himself  by  His  own 
words,  He  never  had  it  in  any  kind  of  reverence 
or  estimation  in  comparison  with  the  spiritual 
bond.  But  as  for  the  spiritual  tie  whereby  we 
are  coupled  with  Him,  He  ever  esteemed  it  in 
the  time  that  He  was  conversant  on  earth,  and  in 
his  Book,  He  has  left  the  praise  and  commendation 
of  the  same. 

To  let  you  see  how  lightly  He  esteemed  the 
carnal  bond  of  blood  and  alliance,  which  we  regard 
so  much,  take  this  place — (Luke  viii.  20,  21)  for 
there  they  come  to  him,  and  say,  "  Master,  thy 
mother  and  thy  brethren  stand  without, and  ivoidd 
sec  thee."  You  hear  His  answer  to  their  demand, 
how  little  He  esteems  that  carnal  bond  ;  He  answers 
(v.  21)  in  a  manner  denying  that  bond,  He  says, 
"  My  mother  and  my  brethren,  arc  these  which 
hear  the  word  of  God  and  do  it."  As  if  He 
would  say,  It  is  not  that  I  esteem,  it  is  not  that 
carnal  conjunction  I  reverence,  it  is  the  spiritual 
couj unction,  by  the  participation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ; 
whereby  we  are  moved  to  hear  the  word  of  God, 
to  give  reverence  to  it  and  obey  it.  This  carnal 
bond  was  never  profitable,  as  that  passage  plainly 
testifies,  for  if  the  touching  of  Christ's  flesh  had 
been  profitable,  the  multitude,  whereof  mention  is 
made  in  that  chapter,  that  thrust  and  pressed 
Him,  had  been  the  better  of  it.  But  so  it  is, 
that  there  was  never  one  of  them  the  better ; 


90  THE   THIRD    SERMON 

therefore  the  carnal  touching  profits  nothing. 
Says  not  Christ  himself  (John  vi.  63),  to  draw 
them  from  that  sinister  confidence,  they  had  in 
the  flesh  only,  "  The  flesh  profits  nothing ;  It  is 
the  spirit  that  quickens  ?  " 

As  to  the  other  kind  of  touch,  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  by  faith  in  thy  soul,  this  has  always 
been  profitable,  and  we  have  a  plain  example 
of  it  in  the  same  chapter.  The  poor  woman 
that  had  long  been  diseased  with  a  bloody  issue, 
— the  space  of  twelve  years, — and  had  wasted 
and  consumed  the  greater  part  of  her  substance 
in  seeking  remedy, — found  no  help  in  the  natural 
and  bodily  physicians.  At  last,  by  virtue  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  working  faith  in  her  heart,  she 
understands  and  conceives  that  she  is  able  to 
recover  the  health  of  her  body  and  the  health 
of  her  soul  by  Christ  Jesus,  who  came  to  be 
the  Saviour  of  both.  And  upon  this  persuasion 
which  she  had  in  her  heart,  that  Christ  could 
cure  both  body  and  soul,  she  presses  through 
the  multitude  till  she  comes  to  Him  :  and  when 
she  comes  it  is  not  said  that  she  touched  His 
flesh  (in  case  the  Papists  would  ascribe  the 
virtue  which  came  out  of  Him,  to  her  carnal 
touching)  but  it  is  said,  that  she  touched  only 
the  hem  of  His  garment  with  her  hand  ;  and 
with  faith,  which  is  the  hand  of  the  soul,  she 
touched  her  Saviour,  God  and  man.  And  to  let 
you  understand  that  she  touched  him  by  faith, 
He  says  to  her  in  the  end,  "  Go  thy  way,  thy 
faith  hath  saved  thee." 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR    91 


She  no  sooner  touched  Him  by  faith,  but 
immediately  there  came  a  power  out  of  Him  : 
which  power  and  virtue  she  felt  by  the  effect 
of  it  in  her  soul  ;  and  our  Saviour  felt  it  when 
it  went  out  from  Him.  So  soon  as  he  felt  it, 
He  says,  "  Who  is  this  that  hath  touched  me  ?  " 
Peter  (who  was  ever  most  sudden)  says,  "  Thou 
art  thronged  and  thrust  by  the  multitude,  and 
yet  thou  askest  who  has  touched  thee."  Our 
Saviour  answers  again,  "  It  is  not  that  touching 
that  I  speak  of;  it  is  another  kind  of  touching. 
There  is  one  has  touched  me,  who  has  drawn 
a  virtue  a».  I  power  out  of  me  :  the  multitude 
take  no  virtue  from  me."  The  poor  woman 
thinking  she  had  done  amiss,  and  perceiving 
she  could  not  be  hid,  came  trembling  and  said  ; 
"  I  have  done  it."  He  answers  her,  in  the  end, 
and  says,  "  Depart  in  peace,  thy  faith  has  saved 
thee  "  :  Thy  faith  has  drawn  out  a  virtue  and 
power  from  me,  that  has  made  both  soul  and 
body  whole. 

This  touching  of  Christ  has  ever  been  profitable; 
is  and  shall  be  profitable  :  like  as  the  touching 
of  Christ  with  the  corporal  hand  has  never  been, 
nor  ever  shall  be.  And  why  ?  Christ  is  not 
appointed  to  be  a  carnal  head,  to  be  set  upon 
the  necks  of  our  bodies,  to  furnish  natural  senses 
and  motions  to  our  bodies.  No,  the  Scriptures 
call  not  Christ  a  natural  head,  but  the  Scriptures 
call  Him  a  spiritual  head,  to  be  set  upon  the 
neck  of  our  souls  :  that  is,  to  be  conjoined  with 
our  souls  ;  that  out  of  Him  there  may  distil  into 


92  THE   THIRD   SERMON 

our  souls  holy  motions,  heavenly  senses ;  and 
that  there  may  flow  out  of  Him  to  us,  a  spiritual 
and  heavenly  life.  Therefore  the  Scriptures  call 
Him  a  spiritual  head,  as  they  call  us  a  spiritual 
body  :  and  as  the  life  which  we  get  from  Him 
is  spiritual,  so  all  our  conjunction  with  Him  is 
spiritual.  And  in  respect  He  works  that  same 
operation  in  my  soul,  which  the  carnal  head  does 
in  the  body,  therefore  He  is  counted  a  spiritual 
head  :  therefore  is  He  counted  the  head  of  his 
Church,  because  He  furnishes  her  with  spiritual 
motion  and  senses,  which  is  the  life  of  the  Church. 
So  to  be  short,  there  is  nothing  i.i  this  con 
junction  carnal ;  there  is  nothing  gross  in  it ; 
there  is  nothing  that  may  be  compassed  by  our 
natural  judgment  and  understanding.  And  there 
fore  whosoever  would  attain  to  any  small  insight 
of  this  spiritual  conjunction  between  Christ  and 
us,  of  necessity  he  must  humble  himself  and 
earnestly  pray  for  the  Spirit ;  otherwise  it  is  not 
possible  to  get  any  understanding,  were  it  ever 
so  slight,  how  the  flesh  of  Christ  and  we  are 
conjoined,  except  we  have  some  light  given  us 
by  the  Spirit ;  that  is,  except  our  hearts  be 
wakened  by  the  mighty  working  of  the  Spirit 
of  Christ,  this  shall  remain  as  a  dead  and  closed 
letter  to  us. 

So  you  have  to  crave  that  the  Lord  in  His 
mercy  would  awaken  you,  illuminate  your  under 
standings,  and  make  you  to  have  a  spiritual 
light  to  discern  these  spiritual  things.  Next,  you 
must  study  and  be  careful  to  remove  all  vain 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR    93 


cogitations  and  earthly  fantasies  :  when  you  come 
to  hear  of  so  high  a  matter,  you  must  cast  off 
all  filthy  thoughts,  ill  motions  and  cares  of  the 
world  ;  and  you  must  shake  off  all  things  that 
clog  your  hearts.  And  thirdly,  you  must  come 
with  a  purpose  to  hear  the  word,  to  give  diligent 
ear  to  the  word,  and  with  a  sanctified  heart  to 
receive  it ;  with  a  purpose  to  grow  and  increase 
in  holiness,  as  well  in  body  as  in  soul,  all  the 
days  of  your  life.  And  coining  with  this  purpose, 
no  question,  the  Holy  Spirit  shall  reveal  those 
things  to  you  which  you  need.  And  though 
this  word  pass  and  bring  no  great  commodity 
for  the  present,  yet  the  Holy  Spirit  hereafter 
shall  reveal  to  thee  the  truth  of  that  which  thou 
hast  now  heard.  This  then  is  the  point  of  all  ; 
Be  present  in  your  hearts  and  minds,  and  let 
your  souls  be  emptied  of  all  the  cares  of  the 
world,  that  they  may  receive  that  comfort  which 
is  offered  in  the  hearing  of  the  word. 

Now  I  come  to  the  defining  of  the  sacrament 
of  the  Lord's  Supper.  I  call  this  sacrament,  An 
holy  Seal,  annexed  to  the  covenant  of  grace  and 
mercy  in  Christ.  A  seal  to  be  ministered 
publicly,  always  according  to  the  holy  institution 
of  Christ  Jesus  :  that  by  the  lawful  administering 
thereof,  the  sacramental  union  between  the  signs 
and  the  thing  signified,  may  stand  :  and  this 
union  standing,  Christ  Jesus  who  is  the  thing 
signified,  is  as  truly  delivered  to  the  increase  of 
our  spiritual  nourishment,  as  the  signs  are  given  and 
delivered  to  the  body,  for  our  temporal  nourishment. 


94  THE   THIRD    SERMON 

Now  let  us  examine  the  words  and  parts  of 
this  definition.  First  of  all,  I  call  this  sacrament 
a  Seal ;  because  this  sacrament  serves  the  same 
use  to  our  souls,  that  a  common  seal  serves  to  a 
common  evidence.  As  the  seal  which  is  annexed 
to  the  evidence,  confirms  and  seals  up  the  truth 
contained  in  the  evidence  :  so  this  sacrament  of 
the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  confirms  and  seals 
up  the  truth  of  mercy  and  grace,  contained  in  the 
covenant  of  mercy  and  grace  :  in  this  respect  it  is 
called  a  seal. 

It  is  called  An  holy  Seal.  Why  ?  Because  it 
is  taken  from  the  common  use,  whereunto  that 
Bread  served  before ;  and  is  applied  to  an  holy 
use.  There  is  a  power  given  to  that  bread,  to 
signify  the  precious  body  of  Christ  Jesus,  to 
represent  the  nourishing  and  feeding  of  our  souls. 
And  in  respect  it  serves  now  in  the  sacrament  to 
so  holy  an  use,  therefore  I  call  it  an  holy  seal. 
This  is  not  my  word ;  it  is  the  Apostle's  (Rom. 
iv.  11),  where  he  gives  the  sacrament  the  same 
name  and  calls  it  a  seal.  And  further,  if  the 
wisdom  of  Christ,  in  his  Apostle,  had  been  followed, 
and  if  men  had  not  invented  new  names  of  their 
own  for  this  sacrament,  but  had  contented  and 
satisfied  themselves  with  the  names  which  God 
has  given  by  His  Apostle,  and  which  Christ  him 
self  had  given  to  this  sacrament ;  I  am  assured, 
none  of  these  controversies,  storms  and  debates 
(which  never  will  cease)  had  fallen  out :  but 
where  men  will  go  about  to  be  wiser  than  God, 
and  go  beyond  God  in  devising  names  which  He 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR     95 


never  gave, — upon  men's  own  invention, — such 
debates  have  fallen  out.  A  lesson,  by  the  way, 
that  no  flesh  presume  to  be  wiser  than  God,  but 
let  them  stoop,  and  keep  the  names  which  God 
has  given  to  this  sacrament. 

Thirdly,  I  say,  annexed  to  the  Covenant ; 
annexed  and  hung  to  the  Charter :  because  it 
cannot  be  called  a  seal  properly  except  it  be 
hung  to  an  evidence.  What  it  is  by  nature  the 
same  it  remains,  and  no  more,  if  it  be  not  annexed 
to  some  evidence  :  it  is  only  the  hanging  of  it  to 
the  evidence  that  makes  men  account  it  a  seal ; 
not  being  so  esteemed,  except  it  be  hung  to  the 
evidence.  Even  so  it  is  here  ;  if  this  sacrament 
be  not  ministered  and  joined  to  the  preached 
word,  to  the  preaching  of  the  covenant  of  mercy 
and  grace,  it  cannot  be  a  seal  ;  it  is  no  more 
than  what  it  is  by  nature.  It  is  but  a  common 
piece  of  bread, — it  is  no  more,  if  it  be  not 
annexed  to  the  preaching  of  the  word,  and 
ministered  therewith  as  Christ  has  commanded. 
Therefore,  I  say,  the  seal  must  be  annexed, 
appended,  and  hung  to  the  evidence,  to  the 
preaching  of  the  word,  for  establishing  the 
evidence ;  otherwise  it  is  not  a  seal.  But  it 
is  not  so,  with  the  evidence  which  is  the  word 
of  God  :  for  you  know  any  evidence  will  produce 
faith,  though  it  want  a  seal ;  and  it  will  serve 
to  establish  a  right,  if  it  be  subscribed,  even 
without  a  seal :  but  the  seal  without  the  evi 
dence  avails  nothing.  Even  so  it  is  with  the 
word  of  God  :  though  the  sacrament  be  not 


96  THE  THIRD   SERMON 

annexed  to  the  word,  yet  the  word  will  serve 
our  turn :  it  serves  us  to  get  Christ,  it  serves 
to  engender  and  beget  faith  in  us,  and  makes 
us  to  grow  up  in  faith.  But  the  seal  without 
the  word  can  serve  us  to  no  holy  use  :  therefore 
I  say,  the  seal  must  be  annexed  to  the  word 
preached,  to  the  covenant  of  mercy  and  grace. 

Now  it  follows  in  the  definition,  that  this  seal 
must  be  ministered  publicly.  Wherefore  say  I 
publicly  ?  To  exclude  all  private  administration 
of  this  sacrament.  For  if  this  sacrament  be 
administered  to  any  privately,  it  is  not  a  sacra 
ment.  Why  ?  Because  the  Apostle  calls  this 
sacrament  a  Communion :  therefore  if  you  ad 
minister  it  to  one  alone,  you  lose  the  sacrament. 
For  this  sacrament  is  a  Communion  of  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ :  therefore,  of  necessity,  it  must 
be  by  way  of  communication  ;  and  so  the  action 
must  be  publicly  ministered.  Secondly,  this 
sacrament  must  be  publicly  ministered,  because 
Christ  Jesus  who  is  the  thing  signified  in  this 
sacrament,  is  no  such  thing  as  pertains  to  one 
man  only  :  If  this  were  so,  He  might  be  privately 
given  and  ministered.  But  seeing  Christ,  who 
is  the  thing  signified  in  the  sacrament,  belongs 
to  every  believing  man  and  woman,  therefore  He 
ought  to  be  given  in  common  to  all,  in  a  common 
action,  in  a  society,  and  congregation  of  the  faith 
ful.  Thirdly,  this  sacrament  is  a  thanksgiving 
to  God  the  Father  for  His  benefits.  Now  it 
appertains  not  to  one  or  two,  to  thank  God  only ; 
but  as  we  are  all  partakers  of  His  temporal  and 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR     97 

spiritual  benefits,  so  we  ought  all  of  us  publicly 
to  give  Him  thanks  for  the  same.  Therefore  I 
say,  in  the  definition,  this  seal  ought  to  be 
publicly  and  not  privately  ministered ;  as  the 
Papists  do  in  their  private  Masses. 

This  seal  must  be  publicly  ministered  accord 
ing  to  Christ's  institution.  Wherefore  say  I 
Christ's  institution  rather  than  man's  or  angel's 
institution  ?  Why  keep  I  to  Christ's  institution  ? 
Because  man  has  not  power  to  institute  or  make 
a  sacrament :  because  an  angel  has  not  power  to 
make  or  institute  a  sacrament.  For  none  has 
power  to  make  or  institute  a  sacrament,  but  He 
that  has  power  to  give  Christ,  who  is  the  thing 
signified  in  the  sacrament.  But  none  has  power 
to  give  Christ,  except  either  the  Father  or  Him 
self :  therefore  none  has  power  to  make  or  in 
stitute  a  sacrament,  but  either  the  Father  or 
the  Son  :  only  God  must  make  a  sacrament. 
Further,  this  sacrament  is  a  part  of  God's  service 
and  worship  :  but  none  has  power  to  appoint  any 
part  of  His  service,  or  prescribe  any  part  of  His 
worship,  but  only  God  himself :  therefore  none 
can  make  a  sacrament  but  God  himself.  There 
is  no  Prince  on  earth  will  be  content  to  be  served 
after  another  man's  fantasy  :  but  he  will  prescribe 
his  services  according  to  his  own  pleasure:  how 
much  more  is  it  meet  that  God  should  appoint 
His  own  service  and  worship  ?  Therefore  there 
is  neither  man  nor  angel  has  power  to  institute 
any  part  of  the  service  of  God.  The  greatest 
style  that  any  man  on  earth  gets,  in  the  ministry 
G 


98  THE   THIRD   SERMON 

of  the  word  and  sacraments,  is  that  style  which 
the  Apostle  gives  them  (1  Cor.  iv.  1).  There  we 
are  called  stewards  and  dispensers  of  the  grace  of 
God,  ministers  of  those  mysteries  and  holy  things. 
It  follows  then,  that  we  are  not  authors,  creators, 
or  makers  of  them,  but  only  ministers  and  dis 
pensers  of  the  sacraments.  So  it  is  evident,  that 
no  man  nor  creature  has  power  to  make  a  sacra 
ment.  Therefore  it  must  be  according  to  the 
institution  of  Christ.  His  institution  must  be 
kept :  look  what  He  said,  what  He  did,  what 
He  commanded  thee  to  do ;  all  that  must  be 
said,  done  and  obeyed.  If  thou  leave  one  jot 
of  that  undone  which  He  commanded  thee  to 
do,  thou  pervertest  the  institution  :  for  there  is 
nothing  left  in  register  of  that  institution,  but 
it  is  essential. 

So  in  the  celebration  of  Christ's  institution  we 
must  take  heed  to  whatsoever  He  said,  did  or 
commanded  to  be  done :  Thou  must  first  say 
whatsoever  He  said,  and  then  do  whatsoever  He 
did.  For  the  ministration  of  the  sacrament  must 
follow  after  the  word.  First,  thou  must  say  that 
which  Christ  commanded  thee  to  say,  and  thou 
must  teach  that  which  He  commanded  thee  to 
teach  :  and  then  minister  the  sacrament.  Thus 
to  keep  this  institution,  we  must  begin  at  the 
saying,  and  say  whatsoever  Christ  commanded 
us  :  thereafter,  faithfully  do  all  that  which  He 
commanded  to  be  done.  So  I  call  the  word, — 
the  whole  institution  of  Christ  Jesus, — preached 
and  proclaimed,  announced  distinctly,  clearly  and 


THE  LORD  S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR     99 

sensibly  to  the  people  ;  in  such  sort,  that  if  we 
leave  any  kind  of  circumstance  or  ceremony  of 
this  institution  undone,  we  pervert  the  whole 
action. 

It  is  agreed  and  condescended  upon  between  us 
who  celebrate  this  institution,  and  all  the  sects  in 
the  world  who  have  separated  themselves  from 
this  institution,  That  two  things  are  necessary, 
and  must  concur  in  the  nature  and  constitution 
of  a  sacrament.  To  wit,  there  must  be  a  word, 
and  there  must  be  an  element  concurring.  There 
is  not  a  sect  but  grants  this,  That  the  word  must 
concur  with  the  element,  before  there  can  be  a 
sacrament.  Though  they  easily  admit  this  in 
general,  wherein  we  agree  well  with  them ;  yet 
when  it  comes  to  the  special,  and  we  enter  into 
particulars  in  the  handling  and  treating  of  the 
word  ;  how  well  soever  we  agree  in  the  general, 
yet,  in  the  particular,  we  part  as  far  asunder. 
For  when  we  come  to  dispute  and  reason  on  these 
particulars ;  First,  what  we  mean  by  the  word  : 
Secondly,  how  this  word  ought  to  be  treated  : 
Thirdly,  what  virtue  this  word  has  :  Fourthly, 
how  far  the  virtue  of  this  word  extends  itself : 
and  last  of  all,  to  whom  the  words  ought  to  be 
directed  and  pronounced  :  In  all  these  particulars 
we  are  as  far  asunder,  as  ever  we  seemed  to  agree 
in  the  general. 

I  forbear  to  meddle  with  any  other  sect,  but 
shall  deal  with  the  Papists  only,  because  we  have 
most  to  do  with  them  :  And  first  of  all  we  are 
to  understand  what  we  mean  by  the  word,  and 


100  THE   THIRD    SERMON 

what  they  mean  by  it.  We,  by  the  word  (as  I 
have  said),  understand  the  whole  institution  of 
Christ  Jesus,  whatsoever  He  said,  or  did,  or  com 
manded  to  be  done,  without  adding  or  diminishing, 
or  alteration  of  the  meaning  or  sense  of  that  word  : 
This  we  mean  by  the  word  in  the  sacrament. 

Now  what  understand  the  Papists  by  the  word  ? 
They  preach  not  the  institution  of  Christ,  nor 
take  the  whole  institution  as  He  left  it.  But  in 
place  thereof,  they  select  and  choose  out  of  His 
institution  four  or  five  words,  and  they  make 
the  whole  virtue  of  the  institution  to  consist  in 
these  four  or  five  words.  And  it  were  nothing,  if 
they  would  content  themselves  with  these  words, 
because  they  are  the  words  of  the  institution. 
But  they  add  to  the  words,  they  take  from  the 
words,  and  alter  the  meaning  of  the  same  words 
at  their  pleasure.  That  you  may  know  this ;  In 
their  Mass  which  they  call  the  Supper,  I  shall  let 
you  see  the  substance  of  it  :  I  shall  divide  their 
Mass  into  things  substantial  and  things  accidental. 
To  the  substance  of  the  Mass  there  are  three 
things  required.  There  must  of  necessity  be  a 
Priest,  that  is  to  say,  one  who  takes  upon  himself 
the  office  of  our  Mediator  Christ  Jesus,  to  inter 
cede  between  God  and  man.  Secondly,  to  the 
substance  of  the  Mass  it  is  required,  that  the 
Priest  offer  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ.  We 
come  here  to  receive  the  same  things  :  There,  the 
Priest  offers  them  to  God  the  Father.  Thirdly, 
by  this  work  (say  they)  they  obtain  all  good 
things :  by  this  work  wrought,  they  obtain  re- 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR  101 


mission  of  sins,  as  well  to  the  dead  as  to  the 
quick  ;  but  in  special,  they  obtain  remission  of 
sins  to  the  Priest  who  is  the  distributer,  and  to 
him  to  whom  the  Priest  applies  that  sacrifice  : 
And  as  for  the  rest  of  the  Church  who  are  absent, 
they  obtain  remission  of  their  sins,  by  this  work 
generally.  These  three  things  are  necessary  to 
the  substance  of  the  mass. 

As  for  the  "accidents  "  that  must  concur  to  the 
making  of  a  Mass,  they  are  of  two  sorts  :  Some 
of  them  are  always  necessary,  without  which  that 
action  cannot  be  :  again,  some  are  not  necessary, 
and  the  action  may  be  without  them,  but  not 
without  a  deadly  sin.  Those  things  that  are 
necessary  concern  partly  the  Priest,  and  partly 
the  action  itself.  The  accidents  that  are  necessary 
to  the  Priest  are  of  two  sorts:  One  sort  are  those 
without  which  he  cannot  be  a  Priest  ;  The  other 
sort,  those  without  which  he  cannot  be  free  from 
deadly  sin.  The  things  without  which  he  cannot 
be  a  Priest,  are  these  :  Except  he  have  power 
given  of  his  Bishop  to  consecrate,  which  power 
is  instituted  by  the  unction  and  shaving  of  his 
crown.  Except,  again,  he  have  power  to  speak, 
and  that  the  roof  of  his  mouth  be  whole  that  he 
may  speak,  he  cannot  be  a  Priest.  These  two  are 
always  necessary,  and  concur  to  the  person.  Other 
things  again  are  not  so  necessary  ;  as,  that  the 
Priest  must  be  free  from  suspension,  from  cursing, 
from  deadly  sin,  and  from  all  ecclesiastical  pains 
and  censures.  These  things  are  necessary  to  the 
person.  Again,  there  are  two  things  necessary  to 


102  THE   THIRD    SERMON 

the  action  :  One  sort  without  which  the  action 
cannot  be  ;  it  cannot  be  without  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  nor  without  the  five  words  of  the  insti 
tution.  Other  things,  again,  are  not  so  necessary; 
as  the  consecration  of  the  place  where  the  Mass  is 
said,  the  Altar  stone,  the  blessing  of  the  Chalice, 
the  water,  the  mutterings,  the  singing,  he  that 
should  help  to  say  Mass,  and  the  rest.  So  they 
and  we  in  no  sort  agree  concerning  the  word,  what 
is  meant  by  it. 

The  second  point  is,  how  this  word  ought  to  be 
treated,  wherein  we  are  as  far  asunder ;  we  say, 
the  word,  taken  as  has  been  said  for  the  whole 
institution,  ought  to  be  treated  after  this  manner: 
First,  there  ought  to  be  a  lawful  Pastor  who  has 
his  calling  of  God  to  deliver  it.  And  this  Pastor 
ought  to  deliver  the  word  lawfully  ;  what  is  that? 
he  ought  to  preach  it,  to  proclaim  it  publicly, 
with  a  clear  voice  to  announce  it.  He  ought 
to  open  up  and  declare  all  the  parts  of  it,  what  is 
the  people's  part,  and  what  is  his  own  part ;  how 
he  ought  to  deliver  and  distribute  that  Bread  and 
Wine ;  how  the  people  ought  to  receive  at  his 
hands  that  Bread  and  Wine ;  to  inform  their 
faith,  how  they  ought  to  receive  Christ's  body 
and  blood,  signified  by  that  Bread  and  Wine  ; 
As  also,  he  ought  to  teach  them  how  they  should 
come  with  great  reverence  to  that  Table,  and 
communicate  with  the  precious  body  and  blood 
of  Christ.  This  he  ought  to  do  in  a  familiar 
language,  that  the  people  may  understand  him, 
that  they  may  hear  him,  that  they  may  perceive 


THE  LORD  S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR  103 

and  take  up  in  their  hearts  the  things  he  speaks. 
For  what  avails  it  you,  to  hear  a  thing  whispered 
and  not  spoken  out  ?  or  if  it  be  spoken  out,  what 
avails  it  you  to  hear  it  if  you  understand  it  not  ? 
For  except  you  hear  Christ  in  a  familiar  and  plain 
language,  you  cannot  understand  :  and  except  you 
understand,  it  is  not  possible  for  you  to  believe  ; 
and  without  belief  there  is  no  application  of 
Christ :  and  except  ye  believe  and  apply  Christ 
to  yourselves,  your  coming  to  the  sacrament  is 
in  vain.  So,  of  necessity,  if  this  sacrament  be 
lawfully  handled,  the  Pastor  must  preach  the 
institution  of  Christ  that  it  may  be  heard,  and 
in  a  familiar  language,  that  it  may  be  understood, 
in  such  sort  that  the  faithful  people  may  be 
informed  how  to  receive,  and  the  Minister  may 
know  his  part,  how  to  deliver  and  distribute. 
This,  we  say,  should  be  the  right  handling  of  the 
holy  institution  of  this  sacrament. 

Now  what  do  they  ?  In  place  of  a  Minister, 
Pastor,  or  Bishop  (call  him  what  you  please)  who 
is  lawfully  called  of  God,  they  substitute  a  priest, 
surrogate  an  hireling,  who  has  no  calling  or 
office  now  in  the  Church  of  God.  For  the  office 
of  a  priest  as  they  use  their  priesthood,  is  no 
other  thing  but  the  office  of  Christ  Jesus,  the 
office  of  Mediator  between  God  and  us.  For  they 
make  their  priests  daily  to  offer  up  Christ  Jesus, 
to  the  Father.  Now  this  is  the  Mediator's  office, 
and  Christ  did  it  once  for  all,  and  once  for  ever, 
says  the  Apostle  :  so  that  they  can  have  no 
entrance  to  do  this  over  again  :  and  in  respect 


104  THE   THIRD    SERMON 

that  their  priests  intrude  to  do  this  again  which 
Christ  has  done  already,  they  do  it  without 
command,  they  have  no  warrant  in  the  word 
of  God.  And,  even  if  they  had  warrant  for  their 
calling  in  the  word  of  God,  yet  they  handle  the 
sacrament  amiss :  for  where  they  should  speak 
forth  clearly,  they  whisper  and  conjure  the  ele 
ments  by  a  certain  kind  of  whispering.  Where 
they  should  speak  it  in  a  known  language,  that 
the  people  may  understand,  they  speak  it  in 
an  unknown  language  :  and  though  they  were  to 
speak  it  in  a  known  and  familiar  tongue,  yet  in 
that  they  whisper  it,  the  people  cannot  be  the 
better  of  it.  Now  what  shall  I  say  ?  Seeing 
they  thus  handle  the  word,  though  it  were  the 
very  institution  itself,  yet  they  so  spoil  it  in  the 
handling,  that  it  is  not  an  holy  sacrament.  Thus 
we  differ  as  much  in  the  second  point,  how  the 
word  ought  to  be  handled  and  treated. 

The  third  point  is,  what  virtue  this  word  has, 
how  far  the  virtue  of  this  word  extends  itself: 
In  this  head  we  grant  and  acknowledge  that  the 
word  has  a  virtue  :  and  the  word  taken,  as  has 
been  said,  works  somewhat  even  toward  the  same 
elements  of  bread  and  wine ;  for  we  acknowledge 
that  those  elements  by  virtue  of  this  word  are 
changed,  not  in  their  substance,  not  in  their 
nature,  nor  yet  in  their  substantial  and  natural 
properties,  but  we  grant  that  the  elements  are 
changed,  in  a  quality  which  they  had  not  before  ; 
in  such  sort,  that  these  elements  are  taken  from 
the  common  use  whereunto  they  served  before, 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR   105 


and  by  the  institution  of  Christ  they  are  applied 
now  to  a  holy  use.  Mark  how  far  the  holy  use 
differs  from  the  common  use  ;  there  is  as  great 
difference  between  the  elements  this  day  in  the 
action,  and  the  thing  that  they  were  yesterday. 
For  I  grant  that  the  elements  are  changed  ;  and 
yet  this  change  proceeds  not  from  the  nature  of 
the  elements,  from  an  enclosed  virtue  supposed  to 
be  in  the  words,  nor  from  the  whispering  of  the 
words,  but  it  proceeds  from  the  will  of  Christ, 
from  His  ordinance  and  appointment,  set  down 
in  His  own  institution  :  for  that  thing  is  holy, 
which  God  calls  holy  ;  and  that  thing  is  common, 
which  God  calls  common. 

To  let  you  understand  how  these  signs  arc 
made  holy,  it  is  necessary  that  these  two  things 
be  considered.  First,  who  is  he  that  makes  them 
holy,  whether  God,  angel,  or  man  ?  Second, 
whosoever  he  be  that  makes  them  holy,  by  what 
means  and  ways  makes  he  them  holy  ?  And  by 
the  consideration  of  these  two,  we  shall  come  to 
the  consideration  and  right  estimate  of  the  snncti- 
fication  of  the  elements. 

For  the  first,  we  say  that  God  only  is  He  who 
can  make  a  thing  which  was  common  to  be  holy. 
So  we  say,  that  God  by  His  will  and  ordinance 
declared  and  set  down  in  His  word,  has  made  the 
things  that  were  common,  by  His  appointment  to 
be  holy.  As  for  the  way  and  means  whereby 
they  are  made  holy,  it  is  the  word  of  God,  the 
institution  of  Christ,  the  will  of  Christ,  declared 
in  His  institution,  that  makes  them  holy.  For 


106  THE  THIRD   SERMON 

the  preaching  and  opening  up  of  the  word  and 
institution  of  Christ,  lets  us  see  that  God  has 
made  these  things  holy ;  and  not  only  that  He 
has  made  them  holy,  but  lets  us  see  a  holy 
manner  how  they  should  be  used,  in  what  place,  at 
what  time,  with  what  heart,  and  to  what  end.  So 
it  is  the  will  of  Christ,  declared  in  His  institution, 
whereby  the  things  that  were  common  before  are 
now  made  holy.  There  are  two  other  things  also 
which  make  the  same  elements  holy  :  and  these 
two  are  used  in  this  institution.  There  is  prayer 
and  thanksgiving,  which  make  the  creatures  of 
God  holy  to  our  use  :  whereas,  otherwise,  if  we 
receive  the  good  creatures  of  God  like  dogs,  and 
thank  Him  not  for  them,  it  is  a  sure  token  that 
they  were  never  sanctified  to  our  use. 

By  prayer  we  obtain  grace  and  strength  from 
God  to  use  the  creatures,  and  this  whole  action, 
holily  and  lawfully  as  it  should  be.  And  there 
fore  not  only  in  this  holy  action  should  we  begin 
with  God  and  with  invocation  of  His  name,  but  in 
all  actions  in  the  world  we  should  begin  in  that 
name  of  God.  So  it  is  the  will  of  God  that 
prayer,  and  thanksgiving,  conjoined  with  the 
elements,  do  make  them  holy.  All  these  three 
contained  in  the  action  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
make  the  seals  holy  :  For  beside  the  will  of  God 
declared  in  the  institution,  in  the  Lord's  Supper 
we  use  an  invocation,  and  in  this  invocation  we 
use  a  thanksgiving.  So  the  elements  are  made 
holy  not  by  the  word  of  God  only,  but  by  the 
use  of  prayer  and  thanksgiving,  which  three 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPKR  IN  PARTICULAR  107 


are    the    only    means    whereby   these   things   are 
sanctified. 

Now  to  express  and  declare  the  sanctificatiou 
of  the  elements  :  The  Evangelists  and  the  Apostle 
Paul  use  indifferently  the  word,  TO  BLESS  and  TO 
GIVE  THANKS,  and  commonly  they  put  the  one 
for  the  other  :  For  you  may  see  that  Mark  and 
Paul  use  the  word  bless  :  Matthew  and  Luke  use 
the  word  to  gire  thanks,  and  all  in  one  significa 
tion  :  And  Mark  himself  in  the  xivth  of  his 
Gospel,  2 2nd  verse,  speaking  of  the  same  action 
of  the  Lord's  Supper,  uses  the  word  "TO  BLESS," 
and  in  the  23rd  verse  he  uses  the  word  "TO  GIVE 
THANKS,"  and  both  in  one  signification.  To  let 
you  see,  that  Christ  Himself,  the  Apostle,  and  the 
Evangelists,  use  the  word  "  TO  BLESS,"  and  "  TO 
GIVE  THANKS,"  indifferently,  to  signify  the  saucti- 
fication  and  consecration  of  the  elements  ;  except 
you  take  the  one  for  the  other,  it  will  be  hard  to 
gather  a  good  meaning  out  of  the  Apostle's  words  : 
for  I  remember  the  Apostle  (1  Cor.  x.  16) 
says  :  The  cup  of  blessing  which  we  bless  ;  what 
is  that  ?  I  take  the  word  to  signify,  as  I  have 
said,  "  which  we  sanctify  and  prepare  by  blessing." 
So  "  to  bless  "  and  "  to  give  thanks  "  in  the  Lord's 
Supper,  signify  no  other  thing  but  to  sanctify  : 
otherwise  if  you  take  the  word  in  another  significa 
tion  you  shall  fall  into  an  error ;  and  why  ?  God 
is  said  to  bless,  and  man  is  said  to  bless  :  God  is 
said  to  bless  when  He  gives  good  things  to  His 
creatures,  for  God's  blessing  is  ever  effectual  ;  and 
therefore  He  is  said  to  bless  when  He  gives  good 


108  THE   THIRD   SERMON 

things.  Man  again  is  said  to  bless,  either  privately 
or  publicly,  when  he  craves  blessing  at  the  hands 
of  God  for  any  man  ;  when  he  blesses  in  the  name 
and  at  the  command  of  God,  any  person  or  people. 
Now  if  you  ascribe  blessing  in  any  of  these  two 
significations  to  the  cup,  it  is  amiss  :  for  we  use 
neither  to  crave  a  blessing  to  insensible  elements ; 
nor  yet  to  bless  them  in  the  name  of  God  :  and 
God  uses  to  give  good  things  to  the  sons  of  men, 
and  not  to  insensible  creatures.  Therefore  we 
must  needs  use  the  word  "  Bless "  in  the  third 
signification,  "  The  cup  of  blessing  which  we  bless," 
that  is,  which  we  sanctify  and  prepare  by  bless 
ing.  Thus  far  we  understand,  for  the  sanctifica- 
tion  of  the  elements. 

Now  let  us  see  how  they  sanctify  these  elements, 
and  what  is  the  form  of  their  consecration  ;  so  far 
as  I  understand,  it  consists  in  these  five  words  : 
Hoc  est  enim  corpus  meum.  It  stands  in  these 
five  words,  and  in  the  whispering  of  them  ;  for  if 
you  whisper  them  not,  you  lose  the  fashion  of 
incantation  :  for  the  thing  which  we  call  sanctify 
ing,  they  call  whispering  :  and  the  whispering  of 
these  five  words,  they  call  the  "  consecration " 
of  the  elements.  And  when  the  words  are  after 
this  manner  whispered,  they  pre-suppose  such  a 
secret  and  portentous  virtue  to  be  enclosed  in  the 
syllables,  that  the  virtue  and  power  which  flows 
from  the  words,  is  able  to  chase  away  wholly  the 
substance  of  the  bread  ;  so  that  the  very  bread  and 
substance  of  it  is  altogether  destroyed  by  this 
power.  Secondly,  that  this  power  which  flows 


THE  LORD  S  SUPPKR  IN  PARTICULAR   109 

from  these  words,  is  able  to  fetch  and  pull  down 
another  substance,  to  wit,  the  flesh  and  blood  of 
Christ  Jesus  Who  sits  at  the  right  hand  of  His 
Father,  and  is  able  to  put  it  within  that  bread. 
This  is  a  strange  and  a  great  virtue,  that  not  only 
will  draw  down  that  substance,  but  put  it  within 
the  compass  of  that  bread.  These  same  five  words, 
whispered  in  this  manner,  have  such  a  wondrous 
operation,  say  they,  that  they  are  able  both  to 
chase  away  the  one  substance,  to  pull  down  another, 
and  to  put  it  in  the  bread.  We  altogether  deny 
that  there  is  such  a  virtue  in  these  words  :  for, 
as  I  have  said  before,  though  we  deny  not  that  the 
word  has  a  virtue,  we  deny  that  there  is  sueh  a 
virtue  enclosed  in  the  words  :  we  deny  the  quality 
and  quantity  of  the  virtue,  or  that  it  flows  from 
such  a  fountain.  For  we  grant  that  the  word 
has  a  virtue  ;  there  is  never  a  word  that  God 
speaks  here,  but  it  has  a  virtue  joined  with  it  : 
but  we  deny  that  this  virtue  is  enclosed  in  the 
syllables,  in  the  whispering  or  pronouncing  of  the 
words  :  for  if  there  were  such  a  virtue  and  power 
enclosed  in  the  syllables,  by  the  same  reason  it 
should  follow,  that  there  were  a  virtue  in  the 
figure  and  shape  of  the  letters  that  make  up  the 
words.  Now  there  is  no  man  will  think  that 
there  is  any  virtue  in  the  figure  or  shape  of  the 
letters:  and  there  is  as  little  virtue  in  the  syllables 
or  pronouncing  of  the  words  themselves.  So  we 
deny  that  there  is  any  virtue  enclosed  in  the 
syllables  or  resident  in  the  words.  But  we  say 
that  there  is  a  power  conjoined  with  the  word, — 


110  THE   THIRD   SERMON 

not  resident  in  the  word, — but  in  the  Eternal 
and  essential  Word,  whereof  John  the  Evangelist 
makes  mention  (chap,  i.)  "The  ivord  which  ivasfrom 
the  beginning,"  that  is,  the  Son  of  God,  Christ 
Jesus.  We  say,  there  is  not  a  dram-weight  of 
this  virtue  and  power  resident  in  any  creature 
that  ever  God  created,  but  it  is  resident  only  in 
Christ  Jesus  :  And  therefore  there  flows  no  virtue 
from  the  syllables,  nor  from  the  words  that  are 
spoken,  but  from  Christ  and  His  Spirit,  who  gives 
the  virtue  to  these  words.  So  we  differ  in  this  ; 
we  say,  that  there  is  not  any  virtue  resident  in 
the  syllables,  we  say  that  the  pronouncing  of  the 
syllables  works  nothing :  but  we  say  that  the 
virtue  is  resident  in  the  person  of  the  Son  of  God, 
and  He  works  by  His  own  word. 

Now  we  say  that  there  cannot  be  such  a  por 
tentous  change,  as  that  the  whispering  of  so  many 
words  should  change  the  very  substance  of  the 
bread,  draw  down  the  substance  of  the  body  of 
Christ,  and  put  His  body  in  so  narrow  a  compass. 
We  say  that  cannot  be  ;  and  this  I  shall  prove 
by  these  three  rules ;  namely,  By  the  verity  of 
the  flesh  of  Christ  Jesus ;  by  the  articles  of  our 
belief;  and  by  the  true  end  of  the  institution  of 
this  sacrament.  So  we  shall  see,  by  God's  grace, 
the  infinite  absurdities  that  follow  upon  their 
opinion. 

(1)  The  first  principle  that  I  lay  down  is  this  : 
Seeing  that  Christ  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  in  the 
time  appointed,  took  true  flesh  of  the  womb  of 
the  Virgin,  and  united  Himself  with  our  nature 


THE  LORDS  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR   111 

in  a  personal  union,  to  the  end  that  our  nature, 
which  fell  altogether  from  integrity  in  the  first 
Adam,  might  recover  the  same  in  the  second 
Adam  :  yea,  not  only  the  same,  but  so  much  the 
greater  as  our  second  Adam  excels  the  first  in  all 
degrees.  And  in  respect  he  took  on  Him  a  body 
like  unto  ours  iii  all  thiugs  (sin  excepted),  of 
necessity  it  must  follow,  that  the  definition  of  a 
true  body,  and  the  inseparable  properties  thereof 
must  be  competent  to  Him.  But  these  are  the 
inseparable  properties ;  namely,  to  be  in  one 
certain  place,  to  be  finite,  circumscribed,  visible, 
and  palpable  :  for  all  these  concur  (qiutrto  modo 
as  the  Logicians  say)  to  a  body  ;  so  that  they 
cannot  be  separate  from  the  subject,  without  its 
destruction.  Therefore  I  reason  in  this  manner  ; 
all  true  human  body  is  in  a  certain  place  ;  Christ 
Jesus'  body  is  a  true  human  body  :  therefore, 
it  is  in  a  certain  place.  I  call  place,  a  certain 
condition  of  an  organic  body,  whereby  it  comes  to 
pass  that  wherever  the  body  be,  of  necessity  it  is 
limited  within  that  place  ;  and  while  it  is  there, 
it  cannot  be  elsewhere.  If  you  would  have  the 
probation  of  my  proposition,  from  the  Doctors, 
read  Augustine  to  Dardanus,  speaking  of  this 
same  body  of  Christ.  "  Take  away  a  certain  room 
from  bodies,  and  they  shall  be  in  no  place  ;  and  if 
they  be  in  no  place,  they  are  not."  The  same 
Augustine,  writing  upon  John,  in  his  30th  Treatise 
says,  "  The  body  in  which  the  Lord  rose  again 
must  of  necessity  be  in  one  place  ;  but  His  divine 
efficacy  and  nature  is  diffused  everywhere,"  And 


112  THE   THIRD    SERMON 

in  his  third  Epistle  he  says,  "  How  much  soever 
the  body  be,  or  how  little  soever  the  body  be,  it 
behoves  to  occupy  the  bounds  of  a  place."  And 
besides  these,  the  history  of  "  the  Acts "  proves 
most  evidently  Christ's  body  to  be  in  a  certain 
place:  as  in  Acts  iii.  21,  the  words  are  these: 
"  Whom  the  heaven  must  contain,  until  the  time 
that  all  things  be  restored,  which  God  had  spoken 
by  the  mouth  of  all  His  holy  Prophets"  Though 
I  need  not  insist  on  the  probation  of  these  things, 
yet  I  proceed.  Secondly  then,  I  reason  after  this 
manner ;  all  human  body  is  finite  and  circum 
scribed  ;  but  the  body  of  Christ  is  a  human  body. 
What  warrant  from  the  Doctors  have  I  for  this  ? 
I  leave  out  many  purposely,  and  allege  only 
Augustine,  who  writing  to  Dardanus  says  "  Believe 
Christ  to  be  everywhere  in  that  he  is  God ;  but 
only  to  be  in  heaven,  according  to  the  nature 
of  a  true  body."  And  in  his  146th  Epistle,  "  I 
believe,"  says  he,  "  the  body  of  Christ  to  be  so  in 
heaven  as  it  was  on  earth,  when  He  went  up  to 
heaven."  But  it  was  circumscribed  in  a  certain 
place  on  earth,  ergo,  it  is  so  in  heaven,  and,  con 
sequently,  it  cannot  be  in  the  Mass-bread  and  in 
heaven  both  at  one  time.  The  last  reason  is  this  : 
a  human  body  is  visible  and  palpable  :  but  Christ 
has  a  human  body,  and  He  is  corporally  present, 
as  you  say  :  therefore  Christ's  body  is  visible  and 
palpable.  I  prove  my  proposition  by  Christ's 
own  words  taken  out  of  Luke  xxiv.  39.  In  the 
which  place,  to  persuade  the  Apostles  of  the 
verity  of  His  body,  and  to  prove  evidently  that  it 


THE  LORDS  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR   113 

was  not  visionary,  He  uses  the  argument  taken 
from  these  two  qualities,  and  He  commands  His 
Apostles  to  feel  and  see  ;  giving  them  thereby  to 
understand,  that  as  these  two  senses  are  the  most 
certain  of  all  the  rest,  so  are  they  most  able  to 
discern,  whether  He  was  a  body  or  a  spirit.  As  if 
He  would  say,  "  If  I  be  visible  and  palpable,  you 
may  be  out  of  doubt  that  I  have  a  true  body." 
For  as  the  poet  says,  whom  2Jcrtnlliaii  cites  also 
to  this  same  purpose  : 

Tamjcre  cnim  d  tamji^  ni*i  corpus,  inilht  potcst  res. 


By  these  arguments  it  may  be  evidently  seen 
how  this  Trausubstantiation  may  no  ways  consist 
with  the  verity  of  the  body  of  Christ  Jesus. 

(2)  And  as  it  fights  with  the  flesh  of  Christ 
Jesus,  so  it  repugns  directly  the  articles  of  our  faith. 
For  in  our  Belief  we  profess,  that  Christ  ascended 
out  of  this  earth  to  heaven,  where  He  sits  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  Father,  where  He  governs  and 
directs  all  things  in  heaven  ami  earth  ;  from 
which  place,  He  is  to  come  at  the  last  day  to 
judge  the  world.  This  article  teaches  us,  that 
He  has  left  His  dwelling  which  He  had  amongst 
us  on  earth,  and  has  ascended  into  the  heavens, 
where  He  sits  at  the  right  hand  of  His  Father, 
and  shall  there  remain  (according  to  the  testimony 
of  Peter,  which  I  have  cited,  Acts  iii.  21)  until 
the  last  day.  If  He  sit  at  His  Father's  right 
hand,  and  be  to  remain  in  heaven  until  the  last 
day,  then  He  is  not  corporally  in  the  bread.  But 
the  Article  says,  that  He  sits  at  the  right  hand 
H 


114  THE   THIRD    SERMON 

of  His  Father :  and  Peter  says  in  that  place, 
that  the  heavens  must  contain  Him  until  the  last 
day.  Therefore,  this  Transubstantiation  is  directly 
against  the  articles  of  our  Belief,  and  the  mani 
fest  place  of  the  Scripture. 

(3)  It  is  opposed  to  the  end  for  which 
this  sacrament  was  instituted  ;  and  this  is  most 
evident :  for  the  end  of  the  sacrament  is  spiritual, 
as  the  effect  that  flows  from  it  is  spiritual,  and 
the  instrument  whereby  this  spiritual  food  is 
applied  to  us,  is  also  spiritual.  But  from  a 
natural  and  corporeal  presence,  a  spiritual  effect 
can  never  flow  :  Therefore  the  corporeal  and 
natural  presence  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ 
Jesus  repugns  directly  the  end  of  this  sacrament : 
for  the  corporeal  presence  must  have  a  corporeal 
eating  :  of  this  eating  follows  a  digestion  in  the 
stomach  and  the  thing  that  is  digested  in  the 
stomach  is  never  able  to  feed  thy  soul  to  life 
eternal.  So  this  corporeal  presence  must  ever 
tend  to  a  corporeal  purpose ;  which  is  directly 
contrary  to  the  end  for  which  the  sacrament  was 
instituted. 

Further,  if  the  bread  were  transubstantiated, 
it  would  become  the  thing  signified  :  if  it  become 
the  thing  signified,  this  sacrament  should  want  a 
sign,  and  so  it  should  not  be  a  sacrament ;  for 
every  sacrament,  as  you  have  heard,  is  a  sign. 
Now  to  say  that  the  accidents  of  true  bread,  as 
the  colour  and  the  roundness  of  it,  may  serve  as 
signs,  that  is  more  than  folly  :  for  between  the 
sign  and  the  thing  signified,  there  must  be  a 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR   115 


conformity  :  but  there  is  no  conformity  between 
the  accidents,  and  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ 
Jesus ;  for  if  that  were  so,  the  accidents  be 
hove  to  nourish  us  corporally  ;  as  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ  Jesus  is  appointed  to  nourish  us 
spiritually.  Again,  if  the  bread  become  the  body 
of  Christ  Jesus,  it  would  follow  that  He  had  a 
body  without  blood  ;  for  He  has  instituted  another 
sign  besides,  to  represent  His  blood.  Also,  if 
there  had  been  such  a  wonderful  thing  as  they 
speak  of  in  this  sacrament,  there  would  have 
been  plain  mention  made  thereof  in  the  Scripture  ; 
for  God  himself  never  works  a  notable  work  but 
He  declares  it  either  openly  or  more  privately  in 
the  Scripture,  that  thereby  He  may  be  glorified 
in  His  wonderful  works.  As  ye  may  read  in 
the  Evangelist  John  ii.  8  :  Where  the  water  is 
changed  into  wine.  Gen.  ii.  22  :  Where  the  rib 
of  Adam  was  changed  into  Eve.  Exodus  viii.  10  : 
Where  Aaron's  rod  was  turned  into  a  serpent : 
in  all  these,  you  see,  that  changing  is  manifestly 
expressed.  Therefore  I  say,  if  there  had  been 
such  a  notable  change  in  these  elements  of  the 
Supper  as  they  aftirm,  the  Scripture  would  not 
have  concealed  but  expressed  it  :  but  in  respect 
there  is  no  mention  made  of  this  change  in  the 
Scriptures,  therefore  there  is  no  such  change  in 
this  action.  Further,  if  there  were  such  a  change, 
as  they  say,  either  it  is  before  the  words  of  con 
secration  are  spoken,  or  it  follows  after.  If  the 
change  be  before  the  words  of  consecration  are 
spoken,  the  consecration  is  superfluous,  and  their 


116  THE   THIRD    SERMON 

proposition  is  false  :  if  the  change  be  after  the 
words  are  spoken,  "  This  bread  is  my  body,"  their 
proposition  is  also  false,  because  the  word  "  bread  " 
is  spoken  before  the  last  syllable  of  these  five 
words  is  pronounced.  These,  and  many  more 
absurdities  follow  from  this  doctrine. 

Yet  they  obstinately  persevere,  and  urge  us 
with  the  letter,  affirming  that  the  words  of  Christ 
are  so  plain  that  they  admit  no  figure.  They 
would  have  spoken  more  advisedly  if  they  had 
sought  counsel  of  Augustine,  to  have  discerned 
between  a  figurative  speech,  and  a  proper  speech  : 
for  he  in  his  third  book  and  sixteenth  chapter  of 
Christian  Doctrine,  speaks  after  this  sort ;  "If 
the  speech,"  says  he,  "seems  to  command  a 
wickedness  or  mischief,  or  to  forbid  any  happiness 
or  welfare,  it  is  not  proper,  it  is  figurative/'  And 
he  adds  for  an  example,  a  place  out  of  John  vi. 
53,  "Except,"  says  our  Master,  "ye  eat  the  flesh 
of  the  Son  of  man,  and  drink  his  blood,  ye  have 
no  life  in  you."  Whereimto  Augustine  adds, 
"  this  speech,"  says  he,  "  seems  to  command 
a  mischief,  therefore  it  is  a  figurative  speech, 
whereby  we  are  commanded  to  communicate  with 
the  sufferings  of  Christ  Jesus,  and  with  gladness 
to  keep  in  perpetual  memory,  that  the  flesh  of 
the  Lord  was  crucified  and  wounded  for  us." 
"  For  otherwise,  it  were  more  horrible "  (as  the 
same  author  makes  mention  in  his  second  book 
against  the  adversaries  of  the  law  *)  "  to  eat  the 

1  i.e.  "  Contra  adversarium  Icgis  ct  prophetarum ;  Libri  duo." 
— Works  of  Augustine,  Benedictine  Edn.  Tom.  viii. 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR   117 


flesh  of  Christ  Jesus  really  than  to  murder  him  ; 
and  more  horrible  to  drink  his  blood,  than  to 
shed  his  blood."  Yet  notwithstanding,  they  hold 
on  still  to  the  same  tune,  and  maintain  that 
those  words  ought  to  be  taken  literally.  So,  that 
it  appears,  that  of  very  malice,  for  contradiction's 
sake,  to  the  end  only  that  they  may  withstand 
the  truth,  they  will  not  acknowledge  this  to  be 
a  sacramental  speech.  For  they  are  compelled, 
whether  they  will  or  not,  in  other  speeches  of  the 
like  sort,  to  acknowledge  a  figure  ;  as  Gen.  xvii. 
10,  Circumcision  is  called  "the  covenant,"  and 
Exod.  xii.  11,  The  Lamb  is  called  "the  Pass 
over,"  and  Matt.  xxvi.  28,  The  Cup  is  called 
"His  Blood,"  and  Luke  xxii.  20,  The  Cup  is 
called  "  the  new  Testament,"  and  1  Cor.  x.  4, 
The  Rock  is  called  "  Christ."  All  these  speeches 
are  sacramental,  and  receive  a  kind  of  interpreta 
tion  :  yet  they  maliciously  presume  to  deny  us  in 
these  words  (Hoc  cst  corpus  incuin],  what  they  are 
compelled  to  grant  in  the  rest,  as  especially  where 
Paul  calls  the  rock  "Christ." 

Now  when  they  are  driven  out  of  this  fortress 
they  tlee  as  unhappily  to  a  second  :  namely,  That 
God  by  his  omnipotence  can  make  the  body  of 
Christ  to  be  in  heaven,  and  in  the  bread  both,  at 
one  time  ;  £7770,  say  they,  it  is  so.  If  I  denied 
their  consequent,  they  would  be  much  troubled 
to  prove  it.  But  the  question  stands  not  here, 
whether  God  can  do  it  or  not  :  but  the  question 
stands,  whether  God  will  do  it  or  not  ;  or  may 
will  it  or  not.  And  we  say  reverently,  that  His 


118  THE   THIRD    SERMON 

Majesty  may  not  will  it :  for,  though  it  be  true, 
that  He  may  do  many  things  which  He  will  not, 
yet  it  is  as  true  that  there  are  many  things  which 
He  may  not  will ;  of  the  which  sort  this  is  :  and 
these  are  reduced  to  two  sorts.  First,  He  may 
not  will  those  things  which  are  contrary  to  His 
nature  :  as  to  be  changeable,  to  decay,  and  such 
others  :  for  if  He  might  will  these  things  :  they 
should  not  be  arguments  of  any  puissance  or 
power,  but  rather  certain  arguments  of  His 
impotency  and  infirmity.  And  therefore  though 
He  may  not  will  these  things,  He  ceases  not 
to  be  omnipotent;  but  so  much  the  rather  His 
constant  and  invincible  power  is  known.  Secondly, 
God  may  not  will  some  things  by  reason  of  a 
presupposed  condition,  as  things,  whereof  He  has 
concluded  the  contrary  before  ;  of  the  which  sort 
is  this  which  is  now  controverted.  For  seeing 
that  God  has  concluded,  that  all  human  body 
should  consist  of  organic  parts,  and  therefore 
should  be  comprehended  and  circumscribed  within 
one,  and  their  own  proper  place  :  and  also  seeing 
He  has  appointed  Christ  Jesus  to  have  the  like 
body,  and  that  not  for  a  time  but  eternally  :  in 
respect  of  this  determined  will  (I  say)  God  may 
not  will  the  contrary  now,  either  to  abolish  this 
body  which  He  has  appointed  to  be  eternal,  or 
yet  to  make  it  at  one  time,  in  respect  of  one 
thing,  a  body  and  not  a  body,  quantified  and  not 
quantified,  finite  and  infinite,  local  and  illocal ; 
for  to  will  these  things  which  are  plain  contradic 
tions  in  themselves,  He  may  not,  no  more  than  it 


THE  LORDS  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR   119 

is  possible  for  Him  to  will  a  lie.  So  it  may  bo 
seen  of  all  men,  that  we  preserve  the  omnipotence 
of  God  ;  and  with  reverence  from  our  hearts 
acknowledge  Him  alone  to  be  alone  omnipotent : 
and  we  desire  all  men  to  esteem  them  as  calum 
niators,  who  abuse  the  ears  of  the  simple,  to 
persuade  them  the  contrary  of  us. 

They  are  not  content  with  this  :  but  they  say, 
That  the  Lord  may  will  a  contradiction,  and  make 
both  the  parts  to  be  true  at  one  time.  And  to 
prove  this,  they  would  bring  in  the  miracles  which 
God  works  :  as  if  they  would  say,  Every  miracle 
includes  a  contradiction.  As  for  example  ;  God 
made  a  Virgin  to  bear  a  Son  ;  they  think  this 
work  brings  with  it  a  contradiction.  To  bear  a 
Son,  say  they,  is  the  one  part  of  the  contradic 
tion  ;  and  to  be  a  Virgin,  is  the  other  part  of  the 
contradiction.  Now  this  work  is  a  miracle,  but 
it  implies  no  contradiction  :  for  concerning  the 
holy  Virgin's  conception,  there  is  no  contradiction. 
There  was  a  miracle  indeed,  that  a  virgin  should 
bear  a  Son,  contrary  to  the  course  of  nature  :  for 
to  be  a  Virgin,  and  yet  to  have  a  child,  are  not 
contradictory,  if  she  have  conceived  and  brought 
forth  by  miracle,  as  did  the  blessed  Virgin  :  But 
to  be  a  virgin,  and  not  a  virgin  at  one  time,  this 
is  a  contradiction.  So  Christ's  body  to  be  visible 
and  invisible,  local  and  illocal,  at  one  time,  is  in 
every  respect  the  like  contradiction  ;  and,  there 
fore,  impossible  to  be  true.  The  other  example, 
of  Christ's  entering  in,  the  doors  being  closed  and 
shut,  what  appearance  of  contradiction  has  it  ? 


120  THE   THIRD    SERMON 

Can  they  prove  that  He  entered  through  the 
doors  ?  And  if  He  did,  then  was  there  an  altera 
tion  of  qualities  and  that  by  miracle  ;  either  in 
Christ's  body,  or  in  the  doors ;  but  no  contradic 
tion,  in  nature,  unless  you  know  not  what  a 
contradiction  is.  Their  third  and  last  example 
of  the  fire  in  Nebuchadnezzar's  oven,  which 
consumed  the  ministers,  but  hurt  not  them 
that  were  in  the  midst  of  it,  appears  to  be  of 
no  weight,  by  that  which  has  already  been 
answered.  They  imagine,  as  appears,  that  in 
every  miracle  a  contradiction  is  implied  :  which 
is  absurd.  If  they  can  prove  that  this  fire  was 
both  hot  and  cold,  then  they  say  something  to  the 
purpose  :  but  that  it  burns  up  some  and  hurts  not 
others,  is  no  contradiction ;  because  by  miracle 
the  force  thereof  was  repressed.  So  this  second 
ground  holds  fast ;  God  may  not  will  that  thing 
which  implies  a  contradiction.  But  so  it  is  that 
the  real  presence  of  the  body  of  Christ  in  the 
sacrament  implies  a  contradiction ;  for  it  makes 
the  body  of  Christ  visible  and  invisible,  compassed 
and  not  compassed  at  one  time  :  therefore  God 
may  not  will  such  a  thing. 

When  they  are  driven  out  of  this,  they  make 
their  last  refuge  a  peremptory  defence  of  their 
own  opinion  :  for  they  say,  Christ's  body  is 
exempt  from  physical  rules  :  for  theology  is  not 
subject  to  physical  rules.  It  is  a  very  ill-gathered 
consequence,  to  say,  that  we  subject  theology 
to  physic,  because  that  we — first,  according  to 
Theology,  which  is  the  law  of  God  ;  and  next, 


THK  LORDS  SUPPKR  IN  PARTICULAR   121 

according  to  Physic,  which  is  the  law  of  nature 
—defend  the  natural  properties  of  the  true  body 
of  Christ  Jesus.  Suppose  I  grant  this,  that 
theology  is  not  subject  to  physic  ;  what  of  that  ? 
ergo,  Christ's  body  is  exempt  from  physical  rules. 
How  follows  that  I  pray  you  ?  By  what  law  may 
you  exempt  or  can  you  exempt  the  body  of  Christ  ? 
By  the  law  of  nature  you  cannot ;  for  He  was  made 
of  the  seed  of  David  and  took  on  Him  true  Hesh 
of  the  womb  of  the  Virgin  :  And  far  less  by  the 
law  of  God,  which  is  Theology  :  for  you  know  that 
Christ  was  appointed  from  all  eternity,  to  take  on 
Him  our  nature  and  to  become  true  man.  Indeed 
it  is  true,  that  the  law  of  God  cannot  be  subject 
to  the  law  of  nature;  fur  the  law  of  nature  flows 
from  the  law  of  God  as  out  of  its  own  spring  :  but 
it  is  as  true  that  if  you  exempt  Christ's  body  from 
the  law  of  nature,  you  shall  exempt  it  also  from 
the  law  of  God.  For  I  affirm  that  the  Scripture 
so  consents  with  the  law  of  nature,  that  if  you 
deny  the  one,  you  shall  deny  the  other  ;  And  if 
you  admit  the  one,  you  shall  admit  also  the  other. 
Therefore  if  they  look  well  about  them,  they  shall 
find  the  beam  to  be  in  their  own  eye  :  for  they 
pervert  both  the  law  of  God  and  the  law  of 
nature,  by  a  new  invented  natural  knowledge  of 
their  own.  For  whosoever  he  be  that  attributes 
to  one  and  the  self-same  body,  natural  and  un 
natural  properties,  which  directly  fight  against 
one  another ;  I  say,  that  man  perverts  both  true 
theology,  and  nature.  But,  to  one  and  the  self 
same  body  of  Christ  Jesus,  they  attribute  natural 


122  THE   THIRD    SERMON 

and  unnatural  properties  :  therefore  it  is  they 
who  pervert  both  the  use  of  true  theology,  and 
the  order  set  down  and  established  in  nature. 
Would  you  know  the  reason  of  my  proposition  ? 
I  say,  it  behoves  as  well  in  theology  as  in  nature, 
that  one  of  two  contradictory  enunciations  must 
be  false. 

But  to  make  an  end  once  for  all  with  them, 
I  will  answer  their  last  refuge.  Thus  they  reason  ; 
A  glorified  being  is  not  subject  to  natural  rules  : 
but  Christ's  body  is  glorified  ;  therefore  it  is  not 
subject  to  natural  rules.  First  of  all,  before  we 
answer  directly,  we  must  consider  wherein  standeth 
the  glorification  of  a  body,  and  then,  the  answer 
will  be  easy.  The  Apostle  Paul  (1  Cor.  xv.  42) 
speaks  after  this  manner  ;  "  so  also,"  says  he,  "  is 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  The  body  is  sown 
in  corruption,  and  is  raised  in  incorruption  :  It  is 
sown  in  dishonour,  and  is  raised  in  glory  :  It  is 
sown  in  weakness,  and  is  raised  in  power."  And 
a  little  after  :  "  This  corruptible  must  put  on  in 
corruption,  and  this  mortal  must  put  on  immor 
tality."  By  this  clear  antithesis,  Paul  plainly 
describes  the  glorification  of  a  body  ;  for  he  opposes 
these  two,  the  unglorified  and  the  glorified  body  : 
And  to  the  unglorified  body  he  ascribes  corruption, 
ignominy,  infirmity,  carnality,  and  mortality  :  To 
the  glorified  body  he  attributes  incorruption,  glory, 
power,  spirituality,  and  immortality.  From  this 
opposition  we  may  gather  easily,  what  resurrec 
tion  and  glorification  bring  to  the  body.  In  a 
word,  by  them  we  see  that  the  body  is  only 


THE  LORD  S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR   123 

spoiled  of  corruption,  shame,  infirmity,  naturality, 
and  mortality  :  i.e.  it  becomes  only  spoiled  of  all 
the  infirmities  of  our  nature,  that  it  may  be  clothed 
with  a  more  glorious  apparel :  as  with  iucorrup- 
tion,  power,  glory,  spirituality,  and  immortality. 
We  see  then,  that  this  glorification  imports  a 
change  indeed  ;  but  I  believe  no  man  will  be  so 
mad,  as  to  think  this  change  to  be  made  in  the 
substance  :  for  if  that  were  so,  the  old  substance 
behoved  to  decay,  and  a  new  one  should  arise  : 
but  we  hear  of  no  such  thing  in  this  description. 
And  as  little  is  the  change  made  in  the  quantity 
for  we  hear  no  word  either  of  augmentation  or 
diminution  of  any  substance  ;  which  behoved  to  be, 
if  it  were  in  the  quantity.  So  far  as  we  can 
perceive,  this  mutation  consists  in  the  qualities, 
by  which  the  body  casts  off  the  old  coat  of 
infirmity,  and  is  clothed  anew  with  the  coat  of 
glory  :  For  Christ  after  He  rose,  both  went  and 
came,  was  seen  and  touched. 

From  the  things  before  deduced,  it  clearly 
follows  that,  in  respect  the  glory  of  the  body  of 
Christ  has  wrought  no  change  in  His  nature  and 
substance,  nor  consequently  in  His  natural  dimen 
sions,  nor  yet  in  any  other  essential  property  ; 
therefore,  the  glorification  of  His  body  exempts  it 
not  from  the  rules  of  nature.  For  so  long  as  the 
nature  of  a  true  body  remains,  there  are  no  super 
natural  gifts  whereby  it  may  be  glorified, — were 
they  never  so  high  (so  far  as  may  be  gathered 
from  Scripture), — that  may  hurt  either  the  nature, 
or  the  natural  property  of  it :  For  there  is  no 


124  THE    THIRD    SERMON 

gift  nor  quality  that  may  hurt  nature,  but  that 
gift  that  is  against  nature.  But  the  supernatural 
gift  is  neither  unnatural,  nor  yet  against  nature  : 
therefore  it  cannot  hurt  nor  impair  nature.  And 
my  reason  is  this  ;  Those  gifts  that  decorate  and 
beautify  nature,  cannot  hurt  nor  impair  nature  : 
But  all  supernatural  gifts  beautify  and  decorate 
nature ;  Therefore  they  cannot  take  away  either 
nature,  or  natural  quality. 

They  leave  us  not  so  :  but  out  of  this  same 
doctrine  of  Paul,  concerning  the  glorification  of 
the  body,  they  draw  another  objection  with  which 
to  press  us.  Paul  grants  that  a  glorified  body  is 
a  spiritual  body  :  but  a  spiritual  body  is  an 
invisible  body  :  Therefore  a  glorified  body  is  in 
visible  ;  and  consequently,  the  body  of  Christ  is 
invisible. 

Though  the  argument  be  not  formal,  yet  to  be 
short  I  deny  their  assumption  :  for  if  there  were 
no  more  than  that  word,  "  body,"  that  word 
might  be  an  argument  that  the  spiritual  body  is 
not  invisible.  Yet  to  open  the  matter  more 
clearly,  according  to  the  meaning  of  Paul  in  that 
place  :  in  a  word  as  it  were,  in  the  44th  verse  of 
that  chapter,  he  shews  the  change  that  shall  be 
in  the  qualities  of  the  body  by  the  resurrection  ; 
for  he  says,  that  of  a  natural  body  it  shall  become 
a  spiritual  body :  and  then  in  the  next  verse 
immediately  following,  he  expounds  these  two 
qualities:  for  in  the  45th  verse,  "  That  is  called 
a  natural  body,"  says  he,  "  which  is  maintained 
and  quickened  by  a  living  soul  only,  such  as 


THE  LORDS  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR    125 

Adam's  was.  And  again,  that  is  said  to  be  a 
spiritual  body,  which  together  with  the  soul  is 
quickened  by  a  far  more  excellent  virtue,  namely, 
by  the  Spirit  of  God,  which  is  derived  from  Christ 
the  second  Adam"  Then,  according  to  this  ground, 
I  answer  witli  Augustine  ad  Constantium  :  "  As 
the  natural  body  is  not  a  soul,  but  a  body  :  even 
so  the  spiritual  body  is  not  said  to  be  a  soul,  but 
a  body."  And  consequently,  it  is  not  invisible. 

For  the  further  explaining  of  this  head,  I  shall 
give  them  only  one  knot  to  loose,  and  so  end  this 
point.  'I'h us  I  reason  :  If  Christ's  body  is  natur 
ally  and  really  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  because  it 
is  glorified  ;  it  follows  consequently,  that  when  it 
was  not  glorified,  it  could  not  be  really  present. 
But  it  was  not  glorified  when  this  supper  was 
first  instituted;  therefore  it  was  not  really  present 
in  the  bread  at  Christ's  first  Supper.  If  His 
body  was  not  naturally  present  in  the  bread  at 
the  first  Supper,  it  cannot  be  naturally  present 
now.  For  whatsoever  they  use  now  in  the  admin 
istration  of  the  Supper,  or  of  their  Mass,  (call  it 
what  they  will)  according  to  their  own  confession, 
they  use  it  according  to  the  ordinance,  form,  and 
manner  that  Christ  Jesus  Himself  used  in  His 
first  Supper  :  For  they  say  plainly  in  their  dis 
putation  at  Poissy  1  and  in  all  the  rest  of  their 

1  In  the  year  1561  a  Conference  between  Catholics  and  Pro 
testants  was  hold  at  Poissy— a  religious  house  in  the  environs  of 
Paris— in  presence  of  Catherine  dc  Medici,  Charles  IX.,  the 
Queen  of  Navarre,  and  several  other  distinguished  persons.  The 
aim  was  a  wise  one.  A  considerable  minority  of  the  French 
people  inclined  to  the  Reformed  views  ;  and  the  professed  object 


126  THE   THIRD    SERMON 

works,  that  Christ  Jesus  first  of  all  observed  that 
form  which  they  use  in  their  Mass,  and  left  it  to 
His  Apostles  and  to  their  successors,  that  they 
should  do  the  like.  So  by  their  own  words,  they 
have  entangled  themselves  in  a  hose-net  and 
crucified  their  Mass.  What  can  they  answer  to 
this  ?  They  will  not  stand  dumb,  I  am  sure ; 
for  maintenance  of  their  religion  they  must  say 
something.  For  if  this  reason  bear  it  away,  they 
are  done  with  it.  Therefore  they  say,  that 
though,  the  body  of  Christ  which  was  locally 
present  with  the  rest  of  his  disciples,  was  not 
glorified,  yet  the  body  which  he  exhibited  in  the 
bread  was  glorified.  They  might  as  well  have 
held  their  peace,  and  said  nothing.  For  mark 
the  words  of  the  text  as  they  are  written,  Luke 
xxii.  19,  where  it  is  said,  "And  he  took 
Bread,  and  when  he  had  given  thanks,  he  brake 
it,  and  gave  to  them  saying,  This  is  my  body 
which  is  given  for  you":  and  Paul  (1  Cor.  xi.  24) 
has  these  words,  "  Take,  eat,  this  is  my  body, 
which  is  broken  for  you."  This  relative,  "  which," 
is  relative  to  the  body  which  was  exhibited  in  the 

of  this  meeting  was  to  prepare  some  modus  vivendi  between  the 
two  parties.  The  colloquy  was  continued  from  the  first  part  of 
September  till  towards  the  close  of  November.  The  Protestant 
doctrines  were  clearly  and  boldly  set  forth  by  Beza,  who  was 
supported  by  Peter  Martyr  and  other  men  of  eminence.  So  ably 
and  convincingly  were  the  views  of  the  Reformed  Church,  on  the 
sacramental  question  for  instance,  drawn  up,  that  the  delegates 
on  the  Romish  side  declared  themselves  willing  to  subscribe,  and 
most  of  the  Prelates  seemed  to  approve  ;  but  the  authority  of 
the  Sorbonne  led  to  the  rejection  of  the  formula,  and  the  Romish 
collocutors  fell  under  no  small  reproach  in  consequence. 


THE  LORD  S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR  127 

bread:  for  according  to  their  own  confession,  those 
words  are  pronounced  upon  the  bread  and  directed 
unto  it.  But  that  same  body  was  given  and  broken 
for  us,  that  is  to  say,  crucified  and  humbled  with 
anguish  and  sorrow.  Therefore  I  reason  after 
this  sort  :  "  To  be  crucified  and  broken  with 
anguish  and  sorrow,  can  no  ways  agree  and  accord 
with  a  glorified  body  :  But  the  body  that  Christ 
exhibited  in  the  bread,  is  said  of  the  Evangelists 
to  be  crucified  and  broken  for  us  :  cr<jo,  that  body 
was  not  glorified." 

Now,  last  of  all,  they  are  not  yet  content,  but 
say,  Christ  can  make  the  bread  His  body ;  and 
therefore  his  body  is  really  present.  That  Christ 
can  make  the  bread  His  body,  we  grant :  for 
Christ  being  God,  can  do  whatsoever  He  will : 
only  let  them  shew,  that  Christ  will  make  of 
real  bread,  His  real  Mesh,  and  then  this  controversy 
is  brought  to  an  end.  Christ  indeed  makes  the 
bread  His  body,  not  really  but  sacramentally  :  For 
Christ  lias  not  a  body  made  of  bread  ;  His  body 
was  made  once  for  all  of  the  pure  substance  of 
His  blessed  Mother  :  Another  body  than  this,  or 
oftener  made  than  once,  has  He  none  :  wherefore 
all  doctrine  that  teaches  Christ's  body  to  be  made 
of  bread  is  impious  and  heretical.  The  Papist's 
doctrine  of  real  presence  teaches  that  Christ's 
body  in  the  sacrament  is  made  of  bread,  by 
changing  the  bread  into  His  body  through  force 
of  consecration  :  wherefore  we  may  boldly  and 
truly  conclude  that  their  doctrine  of  real  presence 
is  both  wicked  and  heretical.  Now  to  conclude 


128  THE   THIRD   SERMON 

this  head :  I  beseech  them,  seeing  that  reason 
fails  them,  that  they  fight  not  against  God  for 
maintenance  of  a  lie  how  old  soever  it  be  (for  the 
devil  is  old  enough,  and  yet  he  could  never  change 
his  nature),  but  let  them  rather  glorify  God  in 
confessing  these  words  to  be  sacramental. 

Then,  what  is  the  reason  and  ground  for  which 
the  Papists  draw  down  the  substance  of  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ,  and  make  the  very  substance 
to  be  corporally,  really,  and  substantially  in  the 
sacrament  ?  The  reason  is  this ;  because  they 
cannot  see  by  their  natural  judgment,  nor  under 
stand  by  their  natural  wit,  the  truth  of  this, 
namely,  how  Christ's  flesh  and  blood  can  be  present 
in  the  sacrament,  except  it  be  present  to  their 
corporal  mouth  and  stomach.  If  they  had  light 
to  inform  them  that  Christ  may  be  present  in 
the  sacrament,  yet  not  to  the  hand,  to  the  mouth 
or  stomach,  they  would  never  have  thought  of 
such  a  portentous  presence  as  they  imagine  to 
be  there.  But  being  destitute  of  the  spiritual 
light,  they  follow  their  natural  reason,  and  make 
a  natural  and  carnal  presence.  So  that  ye  have 
this  lesson  to  note  from  hence  :  There  is  no  man 
that  has  not  the  Spirit  of  God  to  understand  this 
word,  This  is  my  body,  but,  out  of  question,  he 
will  do  as  the  Papists  do,  that  is,  he  will  under 
stand  it  carnally  :  And  so  they  mis-knowing  the 
right  meaning,  it  is  no  marvel  though  they  and 
we  differ  in  this  matter. 

For  will  you  ask  of  a  Papist,  first  if  the  true 
body  of  Christ  be  there,  or  if  the  true  flesh  and 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR  129 


blood  of  Christ  be  there  ;  he  will  say,  it  is  there  : 
Will  you  ask  him  wherein  ?  he  will  say  in  and 
under  the  accidents  of  the  bread  and  wine,  under 
the  hue  and  roundness  of  the  bread  :  Will  you 
ask  him  again,  by  what  instrument  it  is  received  ? 
He  will  tell  you  by  the  mouth  and  stomach  of  the 
body  :  So  this  is  their  gross  understanding  of  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ  :  Will  you  ask  of  the 
Ubiquiter,1  if  the  true  body  of  Christ  be  present  ? 
He  will  say  it  is  :  Will  you  ask,  if  it  be  in,  with, 
or  under  the  bread  ?  he  will  answer,  it  is  in  the 
bread,  contentirt,  that  is,  the  bread  contains  it  : 
Will  you  ask  him  to  what  instrument  it  is  offered? 
he  will  answer,  that  the  body  of  Christ  is  offered 
to  the  mouth  of  our  body,  and  that  the  blood  of 
Christ  is  ottered  to  the  mouth  of  our  body,  as  the 
Papists  do. 

Will  you  know  of  us  how  the  true  body  and 
blood  of  Christ  Jesus  is  present  ?  We  will  say, 
that  they  are  spiritually  present,  really  present, 
that  is,  present  in  the  Supper,  and  not  in  the 
bread  :  we  will  not  say,  that  His  true  Hesh  is 
present  to  the  hand  or  to  the  mouth  of  our  bodies; 
but  we  say  it  is  spiritually  present,  that  is,  present 
to  thy  spirit  and  believing  soul  :  yea,  even  as 
present  inwardly  to  thy  soul,  as  the  bread  and 
wine  are  present  to  thy  body  outwardly.  Will 
you  ask  then  if  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ 
Jesus  be  present  in  the  Supper  ?  We  answer  in  a 

1  I.e.  Perhaps  the  higher  Lutlreran  who  holds  the  absolute 
Ubiquity  of  the  Lord's  glorified  body  ;  as  contrasted  with  the 
more  moderate  Lutheran  view  which  requires  only  a  Multi- 
prttmlia. 

I 


130  THE   THIRD    SERMON 

word  ;  They  are  present  in  the  Supper ;  but  not 
in  the  bread  and  wine,  nor  in  the  accidents,  nor 
substance  of  bread  and  wine.  And  we  make 
Christ  to  be  present  in  the  Supper,  because  He  is 
present  to  my  soul,  to  my  spirit  and  faith.  Also 
we  make  him  present  in  the  Supper,  because  I 
have  Him  in  His  promise,  This  is  my  body  ;  which 
promise  is  present  to  my  faith  :  and  the  nature 
of  faith  is  to  make  things  that  are  absent  in 
themselves,  yet  present.  And  therefore  seeing 
He  is  both  present  by  faith  in  His  promise,  and 
present  by  the  virtue  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  who  can 
say,  but  that  He  is  present  in  the  Supper  ? 

But  yet  it  should  be  explained,  what  we  mean 
by  the  word  "  present "  ;  how  a  thing  is  said  to  be 
present  and  absent.  And  knowing  this,  ye  shall 
find  all  the  matter  easy.  I  say,  things  are  said 
to  be  present,  as  they  are  perceived  by  any  out 
ward  or  inward  sense,  and  as  they  are  perceived 
by  any  of  the  senses,  so  are  they  present,  and  the 
further  they  be  perceived,  the  further  present : 
and  by  what  sense  anything  is  perceived,  to  that 
sense  it  is  present.  Now  if  it  be  outwardly  per 
ceived  by  an  outward  sense,  that  thing  is  outwardly 
present.  As  for  example,  if  it  be  perceived  by 
the  outward  sight  of  the  eye,  by  the  outward 
hearing  of  the  ear,  by  the  outward  feeling  of  the 
hands,  or  taste  of  the  mouth,  it  is  outwardly 
present.  Or,  if  anything  be  perceived  by  the 
inward  eye,  by  the  inward  taste  and  feeling  of 
the  soul,  this  thing  cannot  be  outwardly  present, 
but  it  must  be  spiritually  and  inwardly  present  to 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPKR  IN  PARTICULAR   131 


the  soul.  Everything  is  present  as  it  is  perceived. 
So  that  if  you  perceive  not  a  tiling  outwardly,  it 
is  outwardly  absent ;  and  if  you  perceive  not  a 
thing  inwardly,  it  is  inwardly  absent.  It  is  not 
distance  of  place  that  makes  a  thing  absent,  nor 
propinquity  of  place  that  makes  a  thing  present ; 
but  it  is  only  the  perception  of  anything,  by  any 
of  thy  senses,  that  makes  a  thing  present,  and  it 
is  the  non-perception  that  makes  a  thing  absent. 
Though  the  thing  itself  were  never  so  far  distant, 
if  thou  perceive  it  by  thine  outward  sense,  it  is 
present  to  thee.  As  for  example,  my  body  and 
the  Sun  are  as  far  distant  in  place,  as  the  heaven 
is  from  the  earth  ;  and  yet  this  distance  keeps 
not  the  Sun:s  presence  from  me  :  why  ?  Because  I 
perceive  the  Sun  by  mine  eye  and  other  senses  ; 
I  fei'l  him  and  perceive  him  by  his  heat,  by  his 
light,  and  by  his  brightness.  If  a  thing  were 
never  so  far  distant,  if  we  have  senses  to  perceive 
the  same,  it  is  present  to  us.  Thus  the  distance 
of  place  makes  not  a  thing  absent  from  thee,  if 
thou  have  senses  to  perceive  it  :  likewise,  the 
nearness  of  place  makes  not  a  thing  present,  be  it 
never  so  near,  if  thou  have  not  senses  to  perceive 
it.  As  for  example,  if  the  Sun  shine  upon  thine 
eyes,  if  thou  be  blind,  he  is  not  present  to  thee, 
because  thou  canst  not  perceive  him.  A  sweet 
tune  will  never  be  present  to  a  deaf  ear,  though 
it  be  sung  in  the  ear  of  that  man,  because  he 
has  not  a  sense  to  perceive  it :  and  a  well-told 
tale  will  never  be  present  to  a  fool,  because  he 
cannot  understand  it,  nor  has  judgment  to  perceive 


132  THE   THIRD    SERMON 

it :  So  it  is  not  the  nearness  nor  distance  of  place 
that  makes  anything  present  or  absent,  but  only 
the  perceiving  or  not  perceiving  it. 

Now,  the  word  being  made  clear,  ask  you  how 
the  body  of  Christ  is  present  ?  To  give  our  judg 
ment  in  a  word,  as  you  have  heard  from  time  to 
time,  He  is  present,  not  to  the  outward  senses, 
but  to  the  inward  senses,  which  is  faith  wrought 
in  the  soul.  For  this  action  of  the  sacrament 
and  of  the  Supper,  is  partly  corporeal,  and  partly 
spiritual:  I  call  this  action  partly  corporeal,  not 
in  respect  only  that  the  objects,  that  is,  the  bread 
and  wine  are  corporeal,  but  also  in  respect  my 
mouth,  whereunto  these  things  are  offered,  the 
instrument  whereby,  and  the  manner  how  these 
things  are  received,  are  all  corporeal  and  natural. 
I  call  the  same  action  again,  partly  spiritual,  not 
only  in  respect  of  Christ  Jesus  who  is  the  heavenly 
and  spiritual  thing  of  the  sacrament,  but  also  in 
respect  of  my  soul  whereunto  Christ  is  offered  and 
given  ;  in  respect  the  instrument  whereby,  and 
the  manner  in  which  He  is  received,  are  all 
spiritual  :  for  I  get  not  Christ  corporeally  but 
spiritually.  So  in  these  respects  1  call  this  action 
partly  corporeal  and  partly  spiritual. 

Now,  confound  not  these  two  sorts  of  actions, 
the  corporeal  and  natural  signs,  with  the  spiritual 
thing  signified  thereby  :  again,  confound  not  the 
mouth  of  the  body  with  the  mouth  of  the  soul ; 
thirdly,  confound  not  the  outward  manner  of 
receiving  by  the  hand  of  the  body,  with  the 
spiritual  manner  of  receiving  by  the  hand  of  the 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR   133 

soul.  And  so  it  shall  be  exceeding  plain  to  see, 
that  each  thing  is  present  to  its  own  instrument ; 
that  is,  the  body  of  Christ  which  is  the  spiritual 
thing  signified,  shall  be  present  to  the  spiritual 
mouth  and  hand  :  and  the  bread  and  wine  which 
are  the  corporeal  signs,  are  present  to  the  corporeal 
mouth  and  hand.  Then  how  is  any  object  present? 
A  corporeal  object  is  corporeally  present :  and 
an  inward  object  is  inwardly  present.  Of  what 
nature  is  the  thing  signified  ?  It  is  of  a  heavenly 
nature.  Then  ask  you  how  He  is  present ;  He 
is  spiritually  and  heavenly  present  to  the  soul, 
and  the  mouth  of  the  soul,  which  is  faith.  For 
it  were  a  preposterous  thing  to  make  the  thing 
signified  present  to  thy  belly,  or  to  the  mouth  or 
eye  of  thy  body  ;  for  if  that  were  so.  it  would 
not  be  spiritually  present  :  because  everything  is 
present  as  it  accords  with  its  own  nature.  Is  it 
a  bodily  thing?  it  is  bodily  present:  and  if  it  be 
a  heavenly  thing,  it  is  spiritually  present.  So  I 
think  no  man  can  doubt  how  the  body  of  Christ 
is  present  :  He  is  not  carnally  present,  but  spiritu 
ally  present  to  my  soul,  and  to  faith  in  my  soul. 
Thus  far  concerning  the  manner  of  His  presence. 

Now  the  last  part  of  our  difference  is  this  :  we 
have  to  consider  to  whom  the  words  ought  to  be 
directed  and  pronounced  :  For  we  and  the  Papists 
differ  in  this  last  head  ;  we  say  that  the  words 
ought  to  be  directed  and  pronounced  unto  the 
people,  to  the  faithful  communicants.  They  on 
the  contrary  say,  that  the  words  ought  not  to  be 
directed  or  pronounced  to  the  people,  but  to  the 


134  THE   THIRD    SERMON 

elements,  and  not  to  be  clearly  pronounced,  but 
whispered  over  the  elements  ;  So  that  if  they  be 
spoken  to  the  people,  or  spoken  plainly,  their 
charm  avails  not.  Now  I  say,  that  as  this  holy 
Action  is  perverted  by  them  in  all  the  rest,  so 
they  pervert  it  in  this  point  also,  in  speaking  that 
to  the  dumb  elements  which  they  should  speak  to 
the  people  of  God  :  For  I  shall  prove  it  clearly  by 
three  arguments  taken  out  of  the  Scriptures,  that 
the  words  ought  not  to  be  spoken  to  the  bread, 
but  to  the  people  of  God. 

And  First  I  say,  the  promises  of  mercy  and 
grace  ought  to  be  directed  and  pronounced  to 
them  in  whom  the  Lord  performs  them  and  makes 
them  effectual :  But  so  it  is  that  the  promises  of 
mercy  and  grace  are  performed,  and  made  effec 
tual  not  in  bread  and  wine,  but  in  faithful  men 
and  women  :  Therefore  these  promises  should  be 
directed  to  faithful  men  and  women.  Now  here 
is  the  promise  of  mercy  and  grace  :  This  is  my 
body  ivliicli  is  broken  for  you :  and  this  promise 
is  made  to  no  other  thing  but  to  faithful  men  and 
women,  and  so  to  them  only  it  ought  to  be 
directed.  Secondly,  we  have  to  consider  that 
this  sacrament  seals  up  a  covenant  of  grace  and 
mercy.  Now  with  whom  will  God  make  His 
covenant  of  mercy  and  grace  ?  will  He  make  a 
covenant  with  a  piece  of  bread  or  any  dumb 
element :  There  is  no  man  will  enter  into  covenant 
with  his  servant,  far  less  will  he  enter  into 
covenant  with  a  dumb  element.  So  in  respect 
this  sacrament  seals  up  a  covenant,  this  covenant, 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR   135 


of  necessity,  must  be  made  with  a  faithful  soul, 
and  in  no  wise  with  the  dumb  element  :  and 
therefore  these  words  cannot  be  directed  to  the 
elements.  Thirdly,  look  to  the  end  for  which 
this  sacrament  was  appointed.  Is  it  not  to  lead 
us  to  Christ  ?  Is  it  not  to  nourish  my  faith  in 
Christ  ?  Is  it  not  to  nourish  me  in  a  constant 
persuasion  of  the  Lord's  mercy  in  Christ  ?  Was 
this  sacrament  appointed  to  make  the  elements 
gods  ?  No  !  for  if  you  mark  God's  purpose  in  this 
institution,  you  shall  find  that  Christ  lias  not 
ordained  this  institution  to  nobilitate  the  elements, 
to  favour  and  respect  the  elements  which  were 
bread  and  wine  yesterday  and  make  them  gods 
to-day.  We,  on  the  contrary,  say  plainly  that  the 
institution  of  Christ  respects  not  the  elements,  to 
alter  their  nature.  Indeed  it  is  appointed  to 
alter  us,  to  change  us,  and  to  make  us  more  and 
more  spiritual,  and  to  sanctify  the  elements  to 
our  use.  But  the  special  end  is  this,  to  make  us 
holy,  and  more  and  more  to  grow  up  in  a  sure 
faith  in  Christ,  and  not  to  alter  the  elements,  nor 
to  make  them  gods.  And  therefore  by  all  these 
three  arguments,  it  is  evident  that  the  words 
ought  not  to  be  directed  to  the  elements,  but  to 
the  people  and  faithful  communicants. 

Now  to  come  to  an  end  :  There  is  one  thing 
without  which  we  cannot  profit,  let  us  discourse 
never  so  long  upon  the  right  understanding  of  the 
sacrament.  You  see  now,  how  all  that  is  spoken 
concerning  the  sacrament,  is  grounded  and  de 
pended  on  faith.  Let  a  man  have  faith,  be 


136  THE   THIRD    SERMON 

it  never  so  little,  he  gets  some  hold  of  Christ, 
and  some  insight  in  the  understanding  of  this 
sacrament :  but  lacking  faith,  though  a  man 
strive  to  make  the  sacraments  never  so  sensible, 
it  is  not  possible  that  he  can  get  any  hold  of 
Christ,  or  any  insight  of  Him.  For  without  faith 
we  cannot  be  Christians  :  we  can  neither  get  a 
sight  of  God,  nor  feel  God  in  Christ  without  faith. 
Faith  is  the  only  thing  that  translates  our  souls 
out  of  that  death  and  damnation  in  which  we 
were  conceived  and  born,  and  plants  us  into  life. 
So  the  whole  study  and  endeavour  of  a  Christian 
should  tend  to  this :  To  crave  that  the  Lord  in 
His  mercy  would  illuminate  his  mind  with  the 
eye  of  faith,  and  would  kindle  in  his  heart  a  love 
of  faith,  and  work  in  his  heart  a  thirst  and  desire 
for  the  object  of  faith,  and  more  and  more  thirst 
and  hunger  for  the  food  of  faith  that  nourishes  us 
to  life  eternal. 

Without  this  faith  (howsoever  the  natural  man 
and  natural  understanding  would  flatter  itself) 
surely  there  is  no  blessedness  ;  but  all  his  life  is 
more  than  terrible  misery.  For  whatsoever  it  be 
that  natters  and  pleases  thee  now,  be  it  a  thought 
or  motion  of  the  mind,  or  an  action  of  the  body 
without  faith, — the  very  same  motion,  cogitation, 
or  action,  shall  torment  thee  hereafter.  So, 
without  faith  it  is  not  possible  to  please  God  ; 
and  whatsoever  pleases  not  God,  is  done  to 
torment  thee.  Therefore  crave  mercy  for  any 
motion,  cogitation,  or  action,  in  which  thou  hast 
offended  God  ;  else,  by  the  same,  God  shall  offend 


THE  LORD'S  SUPPER  IN  PARTICULAR   137 


and  torment  thee.  And  to  avoid  the  offending 
God,  there  is  no  means  but  by  true  faith  ; 
therefore,  the  study  of  a  Christian  should  be  to 
grow  in  faith. 

Now  by  hearing  of  the  word  thou  gettest  faith  ; 
and  by  receiving  this  sacrament  thou  obtainest 
the  increase  of  faith ;  and  having  faith,  the  re 
ceiving  of  the  sacrament  shall  be  fruitful  :  but 
without  faith  thou  eatest  thine  own  condemnation. 
So  the  whole  study  of  a  Christian  is  to  get  faith  ; 
and  this  faith  cannot  be  obtained  in  idleness,  but 
by  earnest  prayer  :  therefore  let  every  one  of  us 
fall  down,  and  crave  earnestly  this  faith  and 
the  increase  of  it,  whereby  we  may  be  worthy 
receivers  of  this  sacrament  ;  and  that  for  the 
righteous  merits  of  Christ  Jesus  :  To  whom  with 
the  Father  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  be  all  honour, 
praise  and  glory,  both  now  and  for  ever.  Amen. 


THE  FOURTH  SERMON 

UPON    THE    PREPARATION    TO    THE    LORD'S    SUPPER 

(Preached  the  Twenty-second  day  of  February  1589) 

Let  every  man  therefore  examine  himself,  and  so  let  him  eat 
of  this  Bread,  and  drink  of  this  Cup. — 1  COR.  xi.  28. 

THOUGH  the  doctrine  of  our  own  trial  and  self- 
examination  (well-beloved  in  Christ  Jesus)  ought 
to  come  before  the  doctrine  and  receiving  of  the 
sacrament,  yet  seeing  that  preparation  is,  at  all 
times,  necessary  for  the  hearing  of  the  simple 
word,  as  well  as  for  the  receiving  of  the  visible 
sacrament  (for  no  man  can  hear  the  word  of  God 
fruitfully,  except  in  some  measure  he  prepare  his 
soul  and  prepare  the  ear  of  his  heart  how  to  hear) 
therefore  the  doctrine  of  preparation  and  due 
examination  must  come  in  its  own  place,  and  be 
very  necessary  for  every  one  of  you. 

The  Apostle,  in  the  words  which  we  have  read, 
delivers  his  counsel,  and  gives  his  advice ;  and 
not  only  gives  his  advice,  but  his  admonition  and 
command :  That  we  should  not  come  to  the  Table 
of  the  Lord,  that  we  should  not  come  to  the  hear 
ing  of  the  word  rashly :  but  that  every  one  of  us 
should  come  to  this  holy  work  with  reverence ; 
that  we  should  prepare  and  sanctify  ourselves  in 

138 


PREPARATION    TO    LORIES    SUPPER     139 


some  measure.  And  seeing  we  go  to  the  King  of 
Heaven's  Table,  it  becomes  us  to  put  on  our  best 
array.  In  a  word  he  delivers  the  whole  doctrine 
and  matter  of  this  preparation,  when  he  says ; 
"  Let  every  man,  and  let  every  woman,  try  and 
examine  themselves."  As  if  he  would  say,  "  Let 
every  one  of  you  try  and  examine  your  souls." 
That  is,  try  the  estate  of  your  own  heart,  and 
the  condition  of  your  own  conscience.  Mark  and 
behold  in  what  estate  your  heart  is  with  God, 
and  in  what  estate  your  conscience  is  with  your 
neighbour.  He  bids  not  your  neighbour  try  you, 
he  bids  not  your  companion  try  your  heart  ;  but 
lie  bids  yourself  in  person  try  your  own  conscience  ; 
he  bids  yourself  try  your  own  heart ;  because 
none  can  be  certain  of  the  estate  of  your  heart,  or 
of  the  condition  of  your  conscience,  but  yourself. 
Now  he  excludes  not  others  from  the  trial  of  you, 
(for  it  is  lawful  that  the  Pastor  try  you)  ;  but 
others  cannot  try  you  so  narrowly  as  you  yourselves 
can  ;  for  no  man  can  know  so  much  of  me  as  I 
know  of  myself.  No  man  can  be  certain  of  the 
estate  of  your  heart  and  the  condition  of  your  con 
science  ;  and  yet  you  yourselves  may  be  certain  of 
it.  As  for  others,  men  may  judge  of  your  heart 
and  conscience  according  to  your  works  and  effects  ; 
and  except  your  works  and  effects  be  very  wicked 
and  altogether  vicious,  we  are  bound  in  conscience 
to  judge  charitably  of  your  heart  and  conscience. 
Therefore,  there  is  none  so  meet  to  try  the  spirit 
of  maD,  to  try  the  heart  or  conscience  of  man,  as 
is  the  man  himself. 


140  THE   FOURTH   SERMON 

Now  that  this  trial  may  be  the  better  made, 
you  have  first  to  understand  what  it  is  that  you 
should  try :  what  you  call  a  conscience,  which 
the  Apostle  commands  you  to  try.  Next,  you 
have  to  weigh  and  consider  for  what  reasons  and 
causes  you  should  try  your  conscience.  Thirdly, 
and  last  of  all,  you  are  to  know  in  what  chief 
points  you  should  try  and  examine  your  conscience. 

I.  First,  then,  that  we  speak  not  to  you  of 
things  unknown,  it  is  necessary  for  every  one  of  you 
(seeing  there  is  none  of  you  that  lacks  a  conscience) 
to  understand  ivliat  a  conscience  is  :  and  as  nearly 
as  God  shall  give  me  grace,  I  shall  bring  you  to 
the  understanding  and  knowledge  of  a  conscience. 
I  call  a  conscience,  a  certain  feeling  in  the  heart 
resembling  the  judgment  of  the  living  God,  follow 
ing  upon  a  deed  done  by  us,  flowing  from  a  know 
ledge  in  the  mind,  accompanied  with  a  certain 
motion  in  the  heart,  to  wit,  fear  or  joy,  trembling 
or  rejoicing.  Now,  we  shall  examine  the  parts  of 
this  definition.  I  call  it,  first  of  all,  a  certain 
feeling  in  the  heart ;  for  the  Lord  has  left  such  a 
stamp  in  the  heart  of  every  man,  that  he  does  not 
that  thing  so  secretly,  nor  so  quietly,  but  He 
makes  his  own  heart  to  strike  him,  and  to  smite 
him ;  He  makes  him  to  feel  in  his  own  heart 
whether  he  has  done  well  or  ill.  The  Lord  has 
placed  this  feeling  in  the  heart ;  why  ?  Because 
the  eyes  of  God  look  not  so  much  upon  the  out 
ward  countenance  and  exterior  behaviour,  as  upon 
the  inward  heart.  For  He  says  to  Samuel  in  his 
First  Book,  xvi.  7,  "  The  Lord  beholds  the  heart." 


PREPARATION   TO    LORD'S    SUPPER     141 


So,  1  Chron.  xxviii.  9,  He  says  to  Solomon,  "  The 
Lord  searcheth  all  hearts,  and  understandeth  all 
the  imaginations  of  thoughts."  Also,  Jeremiah 
says  (xi.  20),  "The  Lord  tries  the  reins  and  the 
heart."  And  the  Apostle  (1  Cor.  iv.  5)  says, 
"The  Lord  shall  lighten  things  that  are  hid  in 
darkness,  and  make  the  counsels  of  the  hearts 
manifest."  So,  in  respect  that  the  Lord  will  chietly 
have  to  do  with  the  heart,  therefore  in  the  heart 
He  places  this  feeling,  which  is  the  chief  part  of 
conscience. 

I  say  next,  that  this  feeling  resembles  the 
judgment  of  God  :  for  this  feeling  was  left  and 
placed  in  our  soul  for  this  end  and  purpose,  that 
we  might  have  a  domestic  and  familiar  judgment 
within  ourselves,  to  resemble  and  subscribe  the 
secret  and  invisible  judgment  of  the  high  God  ;  a 
particular  judgment,  to  go  before  that  general 
judgment,  in  that  great  day,  when  every  man 
shall  be  justified,  or  condemned,  according  to  the 
particular  judgment  that  is  within  Ids  own  con 
science.  In  the  meantime,  this  conscience  is  left  in 
us,  to  make  out  our  whole  process  in  this  life,  there 
by,  as  it  were,  to  ease  the  living  God  at  that  last 
judgment.  For  the  books  of  our  own  conscience, 
in  that  last  day  shall  be  opened  ;  and  every  man 
shall  receive,  according  to  the  report  of  the  decree 
that  is  within  his  own  conscience  :  therefore  I  say, 
that  our  conscience  resembles  the  judgment  of 
God. 

The  third  thing  that  I  say,  is  this ;  It  follows 
upon  a  deed  done  by  us  :  our  conscience  and  our 


142  THE    FOURTH    SERMON 

heart  strike  us  not  before  the  deed  be  done ;  our 
heart  strikes  us  not  before  the  evil  deed  be  com 
mitted  ;  no,  it  goes  not  before  the  deed ;  but  the 
stroke  of  the  conscience  and  feeling  of  the  heart 
follow  immediately  upon  the  deed,  in  such  sort, 
that  the  deed  is  no  sooner  done  by  thee,  but  thy 
conscience  applies  it  to  thyself,  and  gives  out  the 
sentence  against  thyself :  therefore,  I  say,  it  is  a 
feeling,  following  upon  a  deed  done  by  us. 

And  next  I  say,  flowing  from  a  knowledge  in 
the  mind]  for  except  the  conscience  have  informa 
tion,  and  except  the  heart  know  that  the  thing 
which  is  done  is  evil,  the  heart  nor  the  conscience 
can  never  count  it  to  be  evil :  therefore  know 
ledge  must  go  before  the  stroke  of  the  conscience; 
thy  heart  can  never  feel  that  to  be  evil,  which 
thy  mind  knows  not  to  be  evil.  So  knowledge 
must  ever  go  before  feeling,  and  according  to 
the  measure  of  thy  knowledge,  according  to  the 
nature  and  quality  of  thy  knowledge,  accordingly 
shall  the  testimony  and  stroke  of  thy  conscience 
be.  For  a  light  knowledge,  a  doubting  and 
uncertain  knowledge,  makes  a  light  and  small 
stroke  :  as,  on  the  other  hand,  a  holy  and  solid 
knowledge,  drawn  out  of  the  word  of  God,  makes 
a  heavy  stroke  of  the  conscience.  So  the  con 
science  must  answer  to  the  knowledge.  If  we 
have  no  other  knowledge  but  the  knowledge 
which  we  have  by  nature,  and  by  the  light  and 
sparks  which  are  left  in  nature,  our  conscience 
will  answer  no  farther  than  to  that  knowledge : 
but  if,  beside  the  light  of  nature,  we  have  a 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD'S    SUPPER     143 


knowledge  of  God  in  His  word,  and  a  knowledge 
of  God  by  his  Holy  Spirit  working  in  our  hearts, 
our  conscience  will  then  go  farther,  and  excuse  or 
accuse  us,  according  to  the  light  that  is  in  the 
word.  So  that  the  conscience  is  not  acquired  or 
obtained  at  what  time  we  are  enlightened  by  the 
working  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  hearing  of  the 
word  of  God  :  hut  our  conscience  is  born  with  us, 
is  natural  to  us,  and  is  left  in  the  soul  of  every 
man  and  woman  :  and  as  there  are  some  sparks 
of  light  left  in  nature,  so  there  is  a  conscience 
left  in  it.  And  if  there  were  no  more,  that  same 
light  that  is  left  in  thy  nature  shall  be  enough  to 
condemn  thec.  So  the  conscience  is  not  acquired, 
gotten  or  begun  at  the  hearing  of  the  word,  or  at 
that  time  when  we  begin  to  reform  ourselves  by 
the  assistance  and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit : 
But  every  man  by  nature  has  a  conscience,  and 
the  Lord  has  left  it  in  our  nature ;  and  except 
that  this  conscience  be  reformed  according  to  the 
word  of  God,  that  same  natural  conscience  shall 
be  enough  to  condemn  thee  eternally.  Therefore, 
I  say,  "flowing  from  a  knowledge  of  the  mind." 

Last  of  all,  I  say,  it  is  accompanied  with  a 
certain  motion  of  the  heart ;  and  we  express  this 
motion,  in  fear  or  joy,  trembling  or  rejoicing.  In 
very  great  fear,  if  the  deed  be  exceeding  heinous, 
and  the  stroke  of  the  conscience  be  very  heavy  ; 
then  the  conscience  never  takes  rest,  for  guilt  must 
ever  dread.  But  if  the  deed  be  honest,  godly 
and  commendable,  it  makes  a  glad  heart,  and 
makes  the  heart  even  to  burst  out  in  joy.  So, 


144  THE   FOURTH    SERMON 

to  be  short  in  this  matter  (for  I  purpose  not  to 
make  a  commonplace  of  it)  you  see,  that  in  every 
conscience  there  must  be  two  things  :  First,  there 
must  be  a  knowledge ;  and  next,  there  must  be 
a  feeling,  whereby  according  to  thy  knowledge, 
thou  appliest  to  thine  own  heart,  the  deed  done 
by  thee.  So  that,  as  the  word  itself  testifies,  it 
arises  of  two  parts  :  of  knowledge,  according  to 
which  it  is  called  "  science " ;  and  of  feeling, 
according  to  which  the  "  Con  "  is  added,  and  it 
is  called  "  conscience."  Thus  the  word  "  con 
science,"  signifies  knowledge  with  application. 

This  conscience,  the  Lord  has  appointed  to 
serve  in  the  soul  of  man  for  many  uses  ;  to  wit, 
he  has  appointed  the  conscience  of  every  one  of 
you  to  be  a  keeper,  a  waiter  on,  a  careful  attender 
upon  every  action  done  by  you.  So  that,  that 
action  cannot  be  so  secretly,  so  quietly,  nor  so 
theftuously  accomplished,  but  whether  thou  wilt 
or  not  (1)  thy  conscience  shall  bear  testimony  of 
it ;  thy  conscience  shall  be  a  faithful  observer  of 
it ;  and  one  day,  shall  be  a  faithful  recorder  of 
that  same  action.  So,  the  Lord  has  appointed 
thy  conscience  to  this  office,  that  it  attends  and 
waits  upon  thee  in  all  thy  actions  ;  nothing  can 
escape  it.  Likewise,  the  Lord  has  appointed  thy 
conscience,  and  placed  it  in  thy  soul  (2)  to  be  an 
accuser  of  thee  ;  so  that  when  thou  dost  any  evil 
deed,  thou  hast  a  domestic  accuser  within  thine 
own  soul,  to  find  fault  with  it.  He  has  also 
placed  it  in  thy  soul  (3)  to  be  a  true  and  stead 
fast  witness  against  thee ;  yea,  the  testimony  of 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD\S    SUPPER     145 


the  conscience,  resembles  not  only  a  testimony  or 
witness,  but  the  conscience  is  tos  good  as  ten 
thousand  witnesses.  The  conscience  also  is  left 
in  thy  soul  (4)  to  do  the  part  of  a  judge  against 
thee,  to  give  out  sentence  against  thee,  to  con 
demn  thee ;  and  so  it  does ;  for  our  particular 
judgment,  must  go  before  the  general  and  uni 
versal  judgment  of  the  Lord  at  that  great  Day. 
And  what  more  ?  He  has  left  thy  conscience 
within  thee  (5)  to  put  thine  own  sentence  in 
execution  against  thyself.  This  is  terrible,  He 
has  left  it  within  thee,  to  be  a  very  torture  and 
tormentor  to  thyself;  and  so  to  put  thine  own 
sentence  in  execution  against  thyself. 

Is  not  this  a  matter  more  than  wonderful,  that 
one  and  the  self-same  conscience,  shall  serve  to  so 
many  uses  in  a  soul  ;  as  to  be  a  continual  observer 
and  marker  of  thy  actions,  an  accuser,  ten  thousand 
witnesses,  a  judge,  an  executioner,  and  tormentor; 
to  execute  thine  own  sentence  against  thyself? 
So  that  the  Lord  needs  never  to  seek  a  member 
of  court,  outside  of  thine  own  soul,  to  make  out  a 
lawful  process  against  thee,  for  thou  shalt  have  all 
these  within  thyself,  to  make  out  a  full  process 
against  thyself.  Take  heed  to  this  :  for  there  is 
never  a  word  of  this  shall  fall  to  the  ground  ;  but 
either  you  shall  find  it  to  your  weal,  or  to  your 
everlasting  woe.  And  this  secret  and  particular 
judgment,  that  every  one  of  you  carries  about  with 
you,  abides  so  sure  and  so  fast  writhiu  you,  that 
do  what  you  can,  if  you  would  employ  your  whole 
labour  to  blot  it  out,  thou  shalt  never  get  it 

K 


146  THE    FOURTH    SERMON 

scraped  out  of  thy  soul.  If  you  were  as  malicious, 
and  were  become  as  wicked  as  ever  any  incarnate 
devil  was  upon  the  earth,  yet  shall  you  never  get 
this  conscience  altogether  scraped  out  of  your 
soul :  but  whether  you  will  or  not,  there  shall  as 
much  remain  of  it,  as  shall  make  you  inexcusable 
in  the  great  day  of  the  general  judgment. 

I  grant,  thou  mayest  blot  all  knowledge 
out  of  thy  mind,  and  make  thyself  become  as 
blind  as  a  mole.  I  grant  also,  that  thou  mayest 
harden  thy  heart,  so  that  thou  wilt  blot  all 
feeling  out  of  it,  so  that  thy  conscience  will  not 
accuse  thee,  nor  find  fault  with  thee,  but  thou 
shalt  have  a  delight  in  ill-doing,  without  remorse  : 
but  I  deny,  that  any  degree  of  wickedness  in  the 
earth  shall  bring  thee  to  that  point,  that  thou 
mayest  do  evil  without  fear ;  but  always  the 
more  thou  doest  evil,  and  the  longer  thou 
continuest  in  evil-doing,  thy  fear  shall  become 
the  greater  :  yea,  in  despite  of  the  devil,  and  in 
despite  of  all  the  malice  of  the  heart  of  man,  that 
fear  shall  remain.  And  though  they  should  both 
conspire  together,  it  shall  not  be  in  their  power 
to  banish  that  fear,  but  that  gnawing  of  the 
conscience  shall  ever  remain,  to  testify  to  thee 
that  there  is  a  day  of  judgment.  I  grant  also, 
that  there  shall  be  a  vicissitude,  and  that  fear 
shall  not  always  remain,  but  shall  be  sometimes 
turned  into  security ;  neither  shall  that  security 
always  abide,  but  shall  be  turned  again  into  fear  : 
so  that  it  is  not  possible,  to  get  this  fear  wholly 
extinguished ;  but  the  greater  the  security  is,  the 


PREPARATION   TO    LORD'S    SUPPER     147 


greater  shall  thy  fear  be,  when  thou  art  awakened. 
Thirdly,  I  grant,  that  this  fear  shall  be  blind  ;  for 
from  the  time  a  man  by  evil  doing  has  banished 
knowledge  out  of  his  mind,  and  feeling  out  of  his 
heart,  what  can  remain  there  but  a  blind  fear? 
When  men  have  put  out  all  light,  and  left 
nothing  in  their  nature  but  darkness,  there  can 
remain  nothing  but  a  blind  fear.  So  1  grant, 
that  the  fear  is  blind  :  for  neither  know  they 
whence  that  fear  comes,  what  progress  it  has 
made,  whereunto  it  tends,  where,  nor  when,  it  shall 
end  :  therefore,  they  that  are  in  this  way  misled 
in  their  souls,  are  of  all  men  on  earth  the  most 
miserable.  For  so  long  as  thou  mayest  keep  in 
thy  mind,  a  spark  of  this  knowledge  and  spiritual 
light,  in  the  which  thou  mayest  see  the  face  of 
God  in  Christ,  wherein  thou  mayest  sec  an  outgate 
in  the  deatli  and  passion  of  Christ,  and  wherein 
thou  mayest  see  the  bowels  of  mercy  offered  in 
the  blood  of  Christ ;  if  thou  hast  any  spark  of 
this  light,  (albeit  it  were  never  so  little),  to  direct 
thee,  and  albeit  this  knowledge  were  never  so 
much  wounded,  yet  there  is  mercy  enough  for 
thee  in  Christ :  but  if  thou  close  up  all  the 
windows  of  thy  soul  and  of  thy  heart,  and  make 
them  to  become  palpable  darkness,  that  thou 
neither  knowest  whence  the  terror  comes,  nor 
yet  seest  any  outgate  ;  that  is  the  misery  of  all 
miseries. 

We  have  many  things  to  lament  in  the  state 
of  this  Country  ;  though  they  are  not  present,  to 
whom  this  specially  appertains.  Nevertheless 


148  THE   FOURTH    SERMON 

there  are  none  of  you  but  have  cause  to  take  heed 
to  your  consciences  now,  while  you  have  leisure, 
that  you  banish  not  altogether  this  light  which 
is  yet  offered  you,  and  whereof  some  sparks  yet 
remain.  For  I  see  the  most  part  of  our  great 
men  in  this  country  run  headlong  to  banish  the 
spark  of  light  that  is  in  them  ;  and  they  will  not 
rest  so  long  as  there  is  any  spark  of  it  left,  till  it 
be  utterly  banished.  And  when  they  have  so  done, 
alas  !  what  can  follow,  but  a  blind  and  terrible 
fear  in  their  conscience,  which  they  can  never  get 
extinguished  ?  A  fear  without  remedy, — a  fear 
to  grow,  and  not  to  decay, — a  fear  to  devour  them 
wholly  at  the  last.  Therefore,  everyone  of  you 
take  heed  to  this  light  that  is  within  you  ;  take 
heed,  that  the  foul  affections  of  your  hearts  draw 
not  your  bodies  after  them ;  see,  at  least,  that 
those  affections  banish  not  this  light.  And  so 
long  as  the  Lord  offers  you  this  light  in  time, 
crave  that  of  His  mercy  He  would  give  you  the 
grace  to  embrace  it,  to  take  a  new  course,  and 
yet  to  amend  your  lives  while  time  is  given  you. 

The  body  shall  leave  the  soul,  and  the  soul 
shall  leave  the  body ;  but  the  conscience  shall 
never  leave  the  soul  :  but  wherever  the  soul  goes, 
to  the  same  place  shall  the  conscience  repair; 
and  in  whatever  state  thy  conscience  is  when 
thou  diest,  in  the  self-same  state  shall  it  meet 
thee  in  the  great  Day.  So  that  if  thy  conscience 
was  a  tormentor  to  thee  at  the  time  of  thy 
death,  if  thou  got  it  not  pacified,  it  shall  be 
an  executioner  to  thee  in  that  general  Judgment. 


PREPARATION   TO    LORD'S    SUPPER     149 


Therefore,  should  this  matter  be  well  weighed, 
and  every  one  of  you  should  study  to  have  a  good 
conscience,  that  when  the  soul  is  severed  from  the 
body,  leaving  your  conscience  at  rest  and  peace 
with  God,  it  may  be  restored  to  you,  and  meet 
you  again  with  as  great  peace  and  quietness. 

Thus  far  concerning  conscience,  what  it  is.  I 
beseech  the  living  Lord,  so  to  sanctify  your 
memories,  that  you  may  keep  these  things  ;  and 
that  every  one  of  these  things  may  be  so  imprinted 
on  your  hearts,  that  to  the  end  of  your  life  you 
may  be  mindful  of  them. 

II.  The  second  thing  that  we  have  to  speak  of, 
is  this ;  We  are  to  consider  wherefore  we  should 
try  our  consciences  :  for  what  anises  we  should 
examine  our  own  souls  and  consciences.  I  shall 
declare  the  reasons  briefly.  It  behoves  every  one 
of  you  to  try  your  conscience.  Why?  (1)  Because 
the  Lord  will  make  His  residence  in  no  other  part 
of  the  soul  but  in  the  conscience  :  He  has  ap 
pointed  His  dwelling  to  be  in  the  heart  of  man, 
in  the  will  and  conscience  of  man  ;  and  therefore 
it  becomes  you  to  make  His  dwelling-place  clean, 
and  to  take  heed  to  your  heart. 

(2)  Xext,  though  the  Lord  of  heaven  made  not 
His  residence  there,  yet  in  respect  the  eye  of  God 
is  an  all-seeing  eye,  and  able  to  pierce  through 
the  very  thickness  of  man's  flesh,  how  dark  and 
gross  so  ever  it  be,  and  to  enter  into  the  very 
secret  corners  of  thy  conscience  ;  (for  unto  the 
all-seeing  eye  of  God,  the  most  secret  corner  of 
thy  conscience  is  as  clear  and  manifest,  as  any 


150  THE    FOURTH    SERMON 

outward  or  bodily  thing  on  the  earth  can  be  to 
the  outward  eye  of  the  body) :  In  respect  there 
fore  that  this  eye  is  so  piercing,  and  that  He 
casts  His  eye  only  upon  our  heart,  it  becomes  us 
to  try  our  hearts. 

(3)  Thirdly,  he  is  the  Lord  of  the  conscience. 
There    is    no    monarch    on    earth    that    has   any 
sovereignty  or  lordship  over  the  conscience  :    only 
the  God   of   heaven,   only  Christ  Jesus,   King  of 
Heaven  and  Earth,  is  Lord  of  the  conscience,  He 
only  has  power  to  save  and  lose.      Therefore  when 
thou  comest  to  this  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Table, 
becomes  it  thee  not  to  look  upon  thy  conscience, 
to  try  and  examine  the  state  of  it  ? 

(4)  Last  of  all,  which  is  the  chief  reason  ;  It 
becomes   thee    to    prove   thy   conscience,    because 
the  welfare,  and  health  of  thy  soul  depends  upon 
thy  conscience.      If  thy  conscience    that  is  within 
thy  soul  be  well,  if  it  be  at  peace  and  rest,  th}^ 
soul  is  well ;   if  thy  conscience  be  in.  good  estate 
thy  soul   must  needs  be   in  good    estate  ;  if  thy 
conscience   be   in    good    health,    of  necessity   thy 
soul  must  be  in  good  health  ;  for  the  good  health 
and  happiness  of  the  soul  depends  upon  a  good 
conscience  :    therefore,    it   concerns    every   one   of 
you   to   try   well    your    consciences.      There    was 
never  any  law  made  or  devised,  that  forbade  us 
to  have  a  care  of  our  health  ;   it  is  lawful  for  us 
to  seek  such  things  as  may  procure  and  preserve 
it :    but   the   health    of    thy   soul    stands   in    the 
health  of  thy  conscience,  and  in  preserving  there 
of  :  therefore,  by  all  laws,  thou  oughtest  to  attend 


PREPARATION    TO    LORIES    SUPPKR     151 


to  tliy  conscience.  If  thou  keep  thy  conscience 
well,  thy  soul  is  in  health  ;  and  if  thy  soul  be 
in  health,  let  troubles  come,  what  will,  upon  thy 
body,  thou  wilt  endure  them  all.  But  if  thy 
soul  be  diseased,  and  if  that  pining  sickness 
occupy  it  which  an  evil  conscience  brings  on, 
thou  shalt  not  be  able  to  endure  the  least  trouble 
that  can  come  upon  thy  body  :  whereas,  if  the 
conscience  were  at  rest  and  in  good  health,  no 
trouble  could  light  upon  thy  body,  but  the 
strength  of  a  good  conscience  should  bear  it  out. 
Thus  have  you  not  reason,  and  more  than 
reason,  to  take  heed  to  your  conscience,  to  try 
and  examine  your  conscience,  in  what  state  and 
disposition  it  is  ? 

Now,  because  it  is  a  savourless  jest  to  tell  you 
that  health  is  necessary,  and  not  to  show  how 
this  health  may  be  acquired,  preserved  and  enter 
tained  ;  therefore,  to  keep  your  conscience  in 
quietness  and  good  health,  I  shall  give  you  these 
few  lessons.  First  of  all,  be  sure  that  thou 
retain  a  steadfast  persuasion  of  the  mercy  of  God 
in  Christ  Jesus  ;  examine  when  thou  liest  down, 
and  when  thou  risest  up,  in  what  estate  thou  art 
with  God  ;  whether  thou  mayest  look  for  mercy 
at  His  hand,  or  not.  Art  thou  persuaded  of 
mercy  ?  Assure  thyself  thy  conscience  is  in  a 
good  state,  thou  hast  health  in  thy  soul  ;  for  by 
the  keeping  of  faith,  the  conscience  is  preserved, 
as  saith  the  Apostle  (1  Tim.  i.  19).  Keep  this 
persuasion,  preserve  it  whole  and  sound,  hurt  it 
not,  bring  not  thy  soul  into  doubting,  stay  not, 


152  THE    FOURTH    SERMON 

nor  hinder  thy  persuasion,  if  thou  desire  to  keep 
health  in  thy  soul :  for,  if  thou  doubt,  or  any 
way  diminish  thy  persuasion  and  assurance,  as 
suredly  at  that  very  instant  shall  follow  the 
diminishing  of  the  health  of  thy  soul  ;  yea  it 
cannot  be,  but  in  that  very  article  of  time  shall 
follow  the  hurt  of  thy  conscience  ;  for  faith  will 
not  dwell  but  in  a  sound  conscience.  Therefore, 
at  what  time  thou  doest  anything  against  thy 
conscience,  at  that  very  time  thou  losest  a  de 
gree  of  thy  persuasion  of  the  mercy  of  God  :  and 
until  such  time  as  thou  fall  down  at  the  feet 
of  Christ,  and  obtain  mercy  for  that  wicked  deed, 
procure  peace  at  His  hands,  and  repair  thy  per 
suasion,  thou  shalt  ever  doubt  of  mercy,  and  want 
health  in  thy  conscience.  This,  then,  is  the  first 
lesson,  to  keep  health  in  your  souls,  see  that  you 
be  careful  to  be  persuaded  of  mercy. 

The  Second  lesson  to  keep  a  good  conscience,  or 
to  keep  health  in  thy  soul,  is  this  ;  you  must  flee, 
eschew,  and  forbear,  whatever  may  trouble  the 
health  of  your  soul,  whatever  may  trouble  the 
quietness  and  peaceable  state  of  your  conscience  ; 
cast  it  out,  forbear  it,  and  eschew  it.  This  in 
general  is  good  ;  but  let  us  see  what  it  is  that 
troubles  the  quiet  state  of  the  conscience.  Nothing 
in  the  world  but  sin  ;  nothing  but  an  evil  nature. 
Therefore,  we  must  of  necessity,  to  keep  health  in 
our  souls,  forbear  and  eschew  sin ;  we  must  flee 
and  avoid  sin.  It  is  not  possible  that  you  can 
both  keep  a  good  conscience  and  serve  the  affec 
tions  of  your  heart :  and,  therefore,  to  keep  peace 


PREPARATION    TO    LORDS    SUPPER     153 

and  health  in  thy  soul,  them  must  bid  thy  lusts 
good-night,  thou  must  renounce  the  lusts  and 
affections  of  thy  heart,  and  thou  must  not  do  as 
thou  wast  wont  to  do  :  thou  must  not  be  given  to 
the  service  of  thine  affections,  and  of  thine  appetite, 
to  put  them  in  execution  as  thou  wast  wont.  But 
in  case  thine  affection  or  lust  command  thee  to 
do  anything,  what  is  thy  part  ?  Thou  must 
examine  how  far  this  may  stand  with  the  good 
will  of  God,  and  how  far  that  affection  which 
commands  thee  may  agree  with  the  law  of  God. 
Is  there  such  a  harmony,  that  that  which  thine 
affection  commands  thee  may  stand  witli  God's 
law  and  holy  will  ?  Then  no  question,  it  is  a 
sanctified  affection,  thou  inaycst  put  it  in  execu 
tion.  But  after  this  trial,  if  thou  find  thine  affec 
tion  to  be  exorbitant  and  out  of  rule,  carrying  the 
field  from  God  and  against  His  law,  beware  of  it, 
resist  it,  put  it  not  in  execution  ;  for  if  thou  fulfil 
the  will  of  that  affection  one  hour,  what  pleasure 
can  it  bring  with  it  ?  It  may  well  bring  a  flatter 
ing  pleasure  at  the  first,  but  it  closes  ever  with  a 
bitter  remorse  in  the  end.  Therefore  to  eschew 
this  bitter  remorse,  should  you  not  all  try  your 
affections  ?  You  must  examine  and  try  them  by 
the  square  of  God's  law,  you  must  see  how  far 
they  agree  with  His  law,  and  how  far  they  dissent 
from  it,  and  so  far  as  they  are  dissonent  from  that 
law,  let  every  man  deny  himself,  renounce  his 
affections :  and  so,  this  trial  being  taken  in  this 
manner  by  thyself,  it  sanctifies  thine  affections, 
makes  Christ  to  lodge  in  thy  soul,  makes  thy 


154  THE   FOURTH    SERMON 

conscience  to  be  at  rest.  And  the  Holy  Spirit 
this  way  makes  both  body  and  soul  to  be  in  good 
health,  and  to  rejoice.  Therefore  flee  from  sin. 
This  is  the  second  lesson. 

The  Third  lesson  is  this  :  study  to  do  well. 
Wouldest  thou  keep  health  in  thy  soul  ?  Study 
to  do  better  and  better  continually  :  At  the  least, 
have  a  purpose  in  thy  heart,  to  do  better  daily  ; 
which  is  the  last  lesson.  Seeing  that  when  we 
study  to  do  best,  and  that  the  just  man,  that  is, 
the  most  holy  man,  falls  so  often  as  seven  times  a 
day,  yea  rather,  seventy  times  seven,  what  is  thy 
part  in  these  slips  and  snares  ?  Though  thou  fall, 
as  thou  canst  not  eschew  to  fall,  lie  not  still  there, 
sleep  not  there  where  thou  hast  fallen  :  It  is  a 
shame  to  sleep  there,  therefore  rise  again.  And 
how  shouldest  thou  rise  ?  By  lifting  up  thy  soul, 
and  running  to  the  Fountain  of  grace  and  mercy  ; 
by  repairing  to  Christ  Jesus,  to  obtain  mercy  for 
thy  soul,  and  to  crave  that  He  would  send  out  of 
Himself  that  measure  of  peace,  that  may  put  thy 
conscience  to  rest,  and  restore  thy  soul  to  health. 
So,  lie  not  where  thou  fallest,  but  rise  immedi 
ately  and  crave  mercy,  and  in  obtaining  mercy  thou 
shalt  repair  thy  fall,  thou  shalt  amend  thy  life  by 
repentance,  and  by  repentance  thou  shalt  get  peace, 
thou  shalt  have  thy  conscience  at  rest,  and  get 
health  to  thy  soul.  Now  keep  this  rule,  if  thou 
would'st  keep  thy  soul  in  health  :  look  that  thou 
sleep  not  in  sin  as  David  did  :  lie  not  still  when 
thou  art  fallen,  and  so  fall  from  one  sin  to  another  ; 
as  from  adultery  to  murder,  and  from  murder  to 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD'S    SUPPER    155 


the  next.  As  commonly  if  a  man  sleep  in  sin, 
and  rise  not  in  time,  one  sin  will  draw  on  another  ; 
for  there  is  never  a  sin  alone,  but  always  the 
greater  and  more  heinous  the  sin  be,  it  has  greater 
and  worse  sins  waiting  on  it.  Therefore  when  you 
fall,  delay  not  to  rise,  but  repair  to  the  fountain  of 
mercy  and  seek  grace  in  time  :  run  to  prayer,  run 
to  the  Church  of  Clod  wherever  it  be,  whether  in 
the  field  or  in  the  town  :  run  to  Christ  Jesus  and 
crave  mercy  of  Him,  that  you  may  have  peace  in 
your  consciences  ;  and  so  by  these  means  every 
one  of  you  shall  preserve  health  in  your  souls. 
By  these  means  you  shall  learn  what  difference 
there  is  between  this  living  word  of  mercy  and 
grace,  which  sounds  in  our  religion  ;  and  that 
slaying  letter  which  slays  the  soul  of  every  one 
that  hears  it, — I  mean  that  idolatrous  doctrine 
of  the  dumb  Mass. 

I  advert  to  this,  because  I  see  that  our  youth, 
for  the  most  part,  are  given  to  it ;  and  the  Lord  is 
beginning  to  take  away  his  grace  and  mercy  from 
this  country,  for  the  contempt  of  this  quickening 
word,  which  has  so  clearly  sounded  here,  and 
which  our  noblemen  (for  the  most  part,  running 
headlong  to  the  devil,  in  a  dumb  guise)  strive 
utterly  to  banish.  Is  not  this  a  miserable  thing, 
that  so  few  of  you  have  eyes  to  consider  and 
discern  the  time  of  peace,  mercy  and  grace,  which 
is  so  abundantly  offered  ?  The  Lord  of  His  mercy 
give  you  eyes  in  time. 

Thus  far  concerning  the  reasons  wherefore 
every  one  of  you  should  try  and  examine  your 


156  THE   FOURTH    SERMON 

own  consciences  :  and  this  trial  ought  not  to  be 
for  a  day  or  for  a  year,  but  it  ought  to  be  every 
day  and  every  year  of  thy  whole  life.  For  that 
conscience  that  should  rest  for  ever  with  the 
living  God,  that  conscience  which  must  ever 
behold  the  face  of  the  Son  of  God,  cannot  be 
over-well  cleansed,  we  cannot  look  over-narrowly 
to  it.  The  more  anxious  we  are  in  searching  the 
conscience,  we  are  the  better  occupied  :  I  speak 
of  our  own  conscience.  I  speak  not  of  our 
neighbour's. 

III.  Thirdly,  I  come  to  the  points  wherein 
every  one  of  you  should  try  and  examine  your 
selves.  Every  one  of  you  ought  to  try  and 
examine  your  consciences  in  two  things  :  First, 
whether  thou  be  at  peace  with  God  who  is  the 
Lord  of  heaven,  or  not.  Next,  examine  thy 
conscience  whether  thou  art  in  love  and  amity 
with  thy  neighbour,  or  not. 

Wouldest  thou  know  whether  thy  conscience 
be  at  unity  and  peace  with  God,  or  not  ?  Thou 
shalt  know  it  this  way  ;  the  God  of  heaven  can 
have  no  society  nor  company  with  that  soul  which 
is  always  unclean,  which  is  every  way  defiled  ;  no, 
He  cannot  !  Now  I  speak  not  so  precisely  that  I 
make  a  soul  to  be  fully  sanctified  and  perfectly 
holy  in  this  life :  no  !  in  this  life  there  are 
wonderful  iniquities,  gross  sins,  and  great  faults 
wherewith  even  the  righteous  are  defiled.  But 
this  is  my  meaning ;  there  is  no  soul  can  be  at 
peace  with  God,  or  with  which  the  Lord  can  have 
any  society,  but  in  some  measure  it  must  be 


PREPARATION   TO    LORD'S    SUPPER    157 


sanctified  and  made  holy.  For  God  cannot  make 
residence  in  a  soul  that  is  always  a  stinking 
dunghill  ;  and  therefore,  of  necessity,  it  must  be 
sanctified  :  there  must  be  so  much  made  clean,  in 
one  corner  or  other  of  that  soul,  in  which  the 
Lord  of  heaven  by  his  Holy  Spirit  may  make  His 
residence.  Now  let  us  see  whereby  the  heart  is 
sanctified  ;  Peter  (Acts  xv.  9)  says,  that  the  soul 
of  man  is  purified  by  faith,  that  the  heart  of  man 
is  purged  by  faith.  So  faith  opens  and  purges 
the  heart  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  in  the 
merit  of  His  blood  we  have  peace  with  God  : 
"  Being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  toward 
God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  says  the 
Apostle,  Romans  v.  1. 

Now  then  this  point  comes  in,  that  you  have  to 
prove  yourselves  whether  you  be  in  the  faith  or 
not ;  as  the  Apostle  says  (2  Cor.  xiii.  5),  "  Prove 
yourselves  whether  ye  are  in  the  faith."  Examine 
if  your  soul  be  seasoned  with  this  faith,  for  if  you 
have  not  faith  in  Christ,  Christ  is  not  in  you  ; 
and  if  Christ  be  not  in  you,  you  are  in  an  evil 
state,  you  are  in  the  estate  of  the  reprobate  and 
the  condemned.  So  every  one  ought  to  look 
carefully  and  see  if  he  has  a  belief  in  the  blood  of 
Christ  or  not :  whether  or  not,  he  believes  to  get 
mercy  by  His  merits,  and  sanctification  by  His 
blood.  For  if  thou  have  no  measure  of  this  faith, 
thou  hast  no  measure  of  peace  with  God,  for  our 
peace  with  God  is  engendered  and  grows  daily 
more  and  more  by  true  faith  in  Christ.  Now 
this  faith  where  it  is  true,  where  it  is  lively  and 


158  THE    FOURTH    SERMON 

couples  the  heart  with  God,  as  I  have  already 
said,  it  must  break  forth  in  word  and  deed,  it  can 
by  no  means  be  held  in,  but  it  will  break  forth. 
It  must  break  out  in  word,  in  glorifying  the  God 
of  heaven,  who  has  forgiven  us  our  sins  ;  it  must 
break  forth  in  word,  by  giving  a  notable  confession 
of  those  sins  wherein  we  have  offended  Him.  It 
must  break  out  in  deed,  in  doing  good  works,  to 
testify  to  the  world  that  thing  which  is  within 
thy  heart ;  to  testify  to  the  world  that  thou  who 
hast  this  faith  art  a  new  man ;  that  by  thy  good 
example  of  life  and  conversation  thou  mayest 
edify  thy  brethren,  the  simple  ones  of  the  church 
of  God  ;  and  that  by  thy  holy  life  thou  mayest 
draw  sinners  to  repentance,  that  they,  seeing  thy 
light,  may  be  compelled  to  glorify  God  in  thee. 

Therefore  in  the  first  point  of  trial  let  us  look 
to  these  three,  to  the  heart,  to  the  mouth,  and  to 
the  hand.  Take  heed  that  there  be  a  harmony 
among  these  three, — that  they  all  sing  one  song ; 
for  if  the  heart  be  inwardly  coupled  with  God, 
there  is  no  doubt  but  the  mouth  will  outwardly 
glorify  Him ;  and  if  thy  heart  and  mouth  be 
renewed  and  be  one,  of  necessity  thou  must 
express  this  in  thy  conversation.  Further  there 
must  be  an  agreement  betwixt  the  heart  and  the 
hand  ;  thy  conversation  must  be  changed  with  the 
heart,  and  be  holy,  honest,  and  godly  as  the  heart 
is.  So  that,  if  thy  conversation  be  good,  it  is  a 
sure  token  that  thou  art  at  one  with  God :  but 
if  thy  conversation  be  not  good,  speak  what  thou 
wilt,  thy  heart  is  only  denied,  this  true  and  lively 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD'S    SUPPER     159 


faith  has  no  place  in  it.  Then,  wouldest  tliou 
know  when  thou  art  at  one  with  God  ?  When 
thy  conversation,  thy  heart,  and  thy  mouth  say  all 
one  thing,  then,  without  question,  thou  hast  the 
work  of  faith  wrought  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  thy 
heart,  which  makes  thee  to  be  at  peace  with  God. 
This  is  the  first  point  wherein  ye  should  try 
yourselves. 

The  next  point  is  love.  You  must  try 
whether  you  be  in  love  and  charity  with  your 
neighbour  or  not.  For  as  thou  art  not  coupled 
with  God  but  by  the  bond  of  faith,  so  thou  art 
not  coupled  with  thy  neighbour  nor  joined  with 
any  member  of  Christ  in  this  earth,  but  by  the 
bond  of  love,  amity  and  charity.  Take  away  love, 
thou  art  not  a  member  of  this  body  :  for  love  is 
the  master  sinew,  which  couples  all  these  members 
of  Christ's  body  together  and  makes  them  to  grow 
up  in  a  spiritual  and  mystical  unity.  Love  is  the 
only  mark  whereby  the  children  of  Christ,  and 
members  of  Christ's  body,  are  known  from  the 
rest  of  the  world  :  love  is  that  holy  oil  which 
refreshes  our  souls,  and  makes  us  like  unto  God  : 
and  the  more  we  grow  in  love,  the  more  God  by 
His  Spirit  dwells  in  us ;  for  God  is  love.  So 
that,  except  in  some  measure  love  towards  thy 
neighbour  dwell  in  thy  heart,  thou  canst  have  no 
society  with  thy  neighbour,  and  far  less  with  God. 
If  the  manners  of  men  were  examined  by  this 
rule,  we  should  find  a  multitude  of  godless  people 
in  this  country,  who  have  their  hearts  raging 
with  malice  one  against  another  :  and  where  the 


160  THE   FOURTH    SERMON 

devil  and  a  malicious  spirit  dwells,  there  is  no 
place  for  the  Holy  Spirit.  And  now  although 
the  Lord  has  gone  about  by  all  means  possible, 
early  and  late,  to  instruct  them,  and  to  infuse 
into  them  this  precious  love  and  amity  towards 
God  and  their  neighbour,  and  so  to  alter  their 
conditions;  yet  they  will  not  suffer  themselves  to 
be  awakened,  until  the  great  vengeance  and  male 
diction  of  God  fall  upon  them.  Nevertheless  this 
love,  this  honest  and  godly  conversation,  flows  all 
from  the  root  of  faith  ;  so  that  if  thy  heart  have 
faith,  in  any  measure,  be  it  ever  so  little,  in  that 
same  measure  thou  must  have  love  towards  thy 
neighbour :  and  this  love  is  never  idle,  but  is 
ever  uttering  itself  to  one  effect  or  other.  And 
in  respect,  that  faith  is  the  ground  whereupon  all 
the  rest  depends  ;  and  in  respect  that  this  faith 
is  such  a  jewel,  as  without  which  it  is  not  possible 
for  any  of  you  to  please  God,  without  which  all 
your  deeds  are  abomination  before  Him,  without 
which  you  are  left  in  a  terrible  misery  (which 
misery  is  so  much  the  more  terrible  that  you  are 
ignorant  of  it),  is  there  not  good  reason  that  we 
should  know  and  understand  how  this  faith  is 
wrought,  and  how  nourished  in  our  souls  by 
the  Holy  Spirit  ?  That  seeing  how  it  is  created, 
and  hearing  the  manner  in  which  it  is  brought 
about,  you  may  examine  your  consciences,  and 
see  whether  you  be  in  the  faith  or  not.  My 
purpose  was  to  have  insisted  longer  on  this 
matter  than  the  time  will  suffer.  Now  there 
fore,  as  time  will  permit  and  God  shall  give  grace, 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD  S    SUPPER     161 

I  shall  let  you  understand  how  the  Holy  Spirit 
employs  His  labour  in  the  heart  and  mind  of  men, 
and  what  pains  He  takes  in  creating  and  forming 
this  jewel  of  faith  in  their  souls.  Yet,  before  I 
enter  on  this  work,  to  let  you  see  the  labours  of 
the  Spirit  of  God,  in  working  this  faith  in  your 
hearts  :  it  is  necessary  and  more  than  necessary, 
that  you  understand,  first  your  own  misery  and 
infirmity  ;  and  that  you  know  how  the  Lord  was 
induced  to  recover  you  out  of  your  former  state, 
and  to  recreate  you,  who  were  lost  by  the  deed  of 
your  forefather  Adam. 

To  consider  therefore  of  this  matter  more  deeply, 
I  call  to  your  memories  this  ground  :  That  man 
universally  and  every  man  particularly,  being 
corrupted  and  lost,  and  that  by  his  first  father's 
fault  (for  if  there  were  no  more,  but  that  same 
first  fall  and  sin  of  his,  we  are  all  of  us  justly 
condemned  to  a  double  death,  both  of  body  and 
soul  for  ever).  Man  thus,  universally  and  par 
ticularly,  being  utterly  lost,  without  any  hope  of 
regress  left  in  his  soul,  without  any  sense  of  the 
recovery  of  that  former  state,  or  repairing  of  that 
Image  which  he  had  lost  through  sin  long  before;1 
he  being,  I  say,  lost  by  this  sin,  and  left  in  this 
desperate  state  in  himself,  what  doth  God  ?  The 
everliving  God,  only  wise,  whose  ways  are  un- 

1  This  is  the  express  language  of  the  Scotch  Confession  of 
15GO.  "By  which  transgression,  commonly  called  original  sin 
was  the  Image  of  God  utterly  defaced  in  man."  Calvin  and  most 
of  the  Reformed  divines  are  more  careful.  He  says  of  the  Image 
oft(iod  in  Man  that  "by  Adam's  sin  it  was  sullied,  and  all  but 
effaced."  (Instil.  III.  iii.  9.) 


162  THE    FOURTH    SERMON 

searchable  has  found  out  a  way,  how  man,  this 
way  lost,  may  yet  be  saved.  Herein  He  sought 
counsel,  from  whom  ?  Not  from  any  creature, 
but  He  counselled  with  Himself.  The  one  God 
was  moved  to  seek  counsel  from  Himself,  only 
moved  in  Himself:  for  He  had  not  an  external 
principle  outside  Himself  to  induce  Him.  So  He 
seeking  this  counsel  at  Himself,  and  being  moved 
in  Himself  thereto  (as  Ephes.  i.  9),  what  doth 
He  ?  When  all  men  should  have  died  for  ever, 
it  pleased  Him  of  his  infinite  mercy  to  select 
out  of  all,  and  to  elect  a  certain  number  out  of 
the  lost  race  of  Adam,  that  should  have  perished 
for  ever.  In  this  His  counsel  and  decree,  moved 
I  say  of  Himself,  and  seeking  counsel  from  Him 
self  only,  He  selects  a  certain  number  out  of  this 
rotten  race,  which  certain  He  will  have  sanctified, 
He  will  have  justified,  He  will  have  glorified.  And 
therefore  to  bring  to  pass  the  work  of  their  salva 
tion  :  what  doth  He  ?  He  appoints  his  own  Son 
(for  he  had  but  one  Son)  He  appoints  the  second 
person  of  the  Trinity,  His  own  proper  Son,  God, 
in  power,  glory,  and  majesty,  as  high  as  Him 
self,  equal  with  God  the  Father  in  all  things  ; 
He  appoints  Him  to  work  this  work,  to  bring 
about  our  redemption,  and  eternal  salvation. 
(This  is  but  the  mystery  of  it  in  some  measure 
disclosed.)  And  therefore,  in  the  fulness  of  time 
(for  He  dispenses  all  things  according  to  His 
wisdom),  at  such  time  as  He  appointed,  He  makes 
His  Son  to  come  down,  to  possess  himself  of  the 
womb  of  the  Virgin,  to  take  on  our  flesh,  the 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD'S    SUPPKR        1G3 


likeness  of  sin  ;  sin  itself  He  took  not  on,  but  He 
took  on  the  likeness  of  sin.  What  shall  I  call 
that  likeness  ?  Our  flesh  is  the  likeness  of  sin  : 
He  took  on  our  flesh  and  nature,  which  was 
perfectly  sanctified,  in  the  very  moment  of  His 
conception,  in  the  very  womb  of  the  Virgin  :  He 
took  on  this  flesh,  that  in  this  flesh  and  nature, 
sin  might  be  banished  and  cast  out  of  us  for 
ever.  And  whereas  we  should  all  have  gone  one 
way  (for  there  was  no  exception  of  persons  by 
nature),  Christ  Jesus  our  Saviour  has  elected  us  : 
and  according  as  his  Father  in  His  secret  election 
before  the  beginning  of  the  world  had  elected  us, 
the  same  Christ  Jesus  in  His  own  time  calls  us 
and  makes  us  partakers  of  that  salvation,  which 
He  has  purchased  :  and  He  repairs  not  only  that 
image  which  was  lost  in  our  forefather  Adam  : 
He  places  us,  not  in  a  terrestrial  paradise,  where 
Adam  was  placed  at  the  beginning  (and  what 
more  could  have  been  sought  by  us  ?).  But  He 
gives  us  a  far  more  excellent  image  than  we 
lost,  He  places  us  in  a  higher  and  more  celestial 
paradise  than  we  lost  :  For  so  much  the  more 
heavenly  is  the  paradise  which  He  gives  us, — 
as  the  second  Adam  is  more  excellent  than  the 
first, — and  as  the  Son  of  God,  and  God  himself, 
is  far  above  any  creature  that  ever  was,  man  or 
angel.  Therefore  it  comes  to  pass  that  by  the 
benefit  of  the  second  Adam,  Christ  Jesus  our 
Saviour,  the  Son  of  God  (whereas  had  we  re 
mained  in  that  Image  wherein  our  forefather 
was  created,  we  should  have  settled  ourselves 


164  THE   FOURTH    SERMON 

in  the  earth  for  ever,  we  could  not  have  craved 
a  better  paradise  than  an  earthly  one,  for  earthly 
tabernacles)  :  By  the  benefit  of  the  Son  of  God, 
I  say,  it  comes  to  pass,  that  we  are  raised  up 
out  of  the  earth  to  heaven,  and  to  a  heavenly 
paradise.  But  what  have  we  to  do  with  heaven? 
Are  we  not  made  of  the  earth,  to  return  to  the 
earth?  Is  not  an  earthly  body  fitted  for  an 
earthly  paradise  ?  Yet  the  Lord  in  His  mercy 
sends  down  His  Son,  to  draw  us  up  out  of  the 
earth  to  heaven.  This  is  so  high  a  thing  that 
it  cannot  be  easily  considered.  For  this  drawing 
of  us  to  a  heavenly  paradise,  is  a  thing  more 
than  could  have  been  thought  of,  that  we  should 
live  the  life  of  angels  in  heaven,  how  could  the 
heart  of  man  think  on  this  ?  Yet  it  pleased  the 
living  Lord,  in  the  great  riches  and  bowels  of  His 
mercy,  and  in  the  exceeding  greatness  of  His 
love  toward  us.  (The  Apostle  in  that  Epistle  to 
the  JSphesians  cannot  get  words  enough  to  express 
this  ;  he  knows  not  how  to  begin,  nor  how  to 
end,  when  he  speaks  of  "  the  riches  "  of  that 
mercy  ;  and  if  you  look  well  into  that  Epistle  to 
the  Eplicsians,  you  shall  find  more  high  and  ex 
cellent  styles  given  to  the  riches  of  that  mercy 
there  than  in  any  other  part  of  Scripture.)  It 
pleased  him  I  say,  of  His  own  mercy,  not  to  give 
us  simply  the  Image  which  we  lost,  nor  to  leave 
us  in  this  earth  :  but  it  pleased  Him  to  give  us 
a  better  Image,  and  besides  that,  to  place  us  in 
heaven,  there  to  remain  with  Him  for  ever. 

Now   stay   his   mercy   and   grace   here  ?     No ; 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD'S    SUPPKR     165 


but  that  this  salvation,  which  He  has  already 
procured  and  brought  about  by  his  Son  our 
Saviour  Christ  Jesus,  might  be  wholly  accom 
plished,  having  nothing  lacking  in  it  :  as  He 
redeemed  us,  in  His  own  person  perfectly,  so  He 
makes  this  same  redemption  to  come  to  our 
knowledge,  and  makes  us  sure  of  it  in  our  con 
sciences  :  and  to  this  end  what  doth  He  ?  As  by 
His  death  He  purchased  our  full  redemption,  so 
He  makes  it  known  to  us,  He  intimates  it  to  us  ; 
by  our  inward  calling,  letting  us  both  find  and 
feel  in  our  hearts,  what  He  did  in  His  body  for  us. 
For  our  Lord  when  He  makes  His  servants  to 
proclaim  this  redemption  and  to  intimate  it  to 
our  consciences,  He  works  this  jewel  of  faith  in  our 
souls,  which  assures  us  that  the  Son  of  God  has 
died  for  us.  For  what  could  it  avail  us  to  see 
our  redemption,  to  see  our  salvation,  and  our  life, 
afar  off,  if  a  way  were  not  found  out,  and  a  hand 
and  means  given  us,  whereby  we  may  apprehend 
that  salvation,  and  apply  it  to  ourselves  ?  What 
can  it  avail  a  sick  man,  to  see  a  drug  in  an 
apothecary's  booth,  except  a  way  be  found  out, 
how  it  shall  be  applied  to  his  sick  body  ?  So  to 
the  end  that  this  work  of  our  redemption  and 
salvation  may  be  fully  and  freely  accomplished  : 
look  how  freely  He  has  given  His  only  Son  to  the 
death  of  the  cross  for  us,  so  freely  has  He  found 
out  this  way  and  means,  and  gifted  us  with  this 
hand,  whereby  we  may  take  hold  of  Christ  and 
apply  Him  to  our  souls. 

This  means,  to  conclude,  is  faith  :  There  is  not 


166  THE    FOURTH    SERMON 

a  way,  nor  an  instrument  in  the  Scriptures  of  God 
whereby  we  can  apply  Christ  to  our  souls,  but 
only  the  instrument  of  faith  :  therefore  faith 
cannot  be  enough  commended.  Turn  to  faith, 
and  it  will  make  thee  turn  to  God  ;  and  so  con 
join  thee  with  God,  and  make  all  thine  actions 
well  pleasing  to  Him.  There  is  never  a  good 
action  that  we  do,  though  it  glance  never  so  well 
before  the  world,  but  it  is  abomination  before  God, 
and  will  further  our  condemnation  if  it  be  not 
done  in  faith.  Having  faith,  all  the  creatures 
of  God  must  smile  on  us,  must  all  conspire  to  the 
furtherance  of  the  work  of  our  salvation  !  As  on 
the  contrary,  lacking  faith,  there  is  none  of  the 
creatures  of  God  but  shall  be  enemies  to  us 
and  conspire  to  our  damnation.  For  faith  con 
joins  us  with  the  God  of  heaven,  and  makes  us 
heavenly.  This  jewel  of  faith  seasons  all  the  gifts 
and  graces  which  God  gives  us  :  all  the  riches  of 
the  earth  are  of  no  value  to  my  soul  without 
faith.  And  what  avails  it  any  man  to  have  all 
the  sciences,  knowledge,  and  wisdom  in  the  world 
without  faith  ?  For  the  devil  has  all  this  know 
ledge,  and  is  not  the  better.  What  avails  it  me 
to  conquer  all  the  monarchies,  kingdoms,  and 
whole  riches  in  the  earth  :  what  can  all  these 
avail  my  soul  ?  Nothing  but  to  make  out  a 
process  against  me  if  I  want  faith.  Therefore, 
all  the  benefits  and  gifts  of  God,  without  faith 
avail  nothing  but  to  augment  our  misery  :  All 
the  gifts  and  graces  of  God  are  abused  without 
faith  ;  faith  alone  makes  thee  to  use  the  benefits 


PREPARATION   TO    LORD*S    SUPPER     167 

and  graces  of  God  rightly  :  Faith  alone  should  be 
sought,  kept,  and  entertained  here  in  this  life. 
Having  faith,  all  the  rest  of  God's  graces  are 
profitable  to  thee,  for  this  jewel  keeps  them  all 
in  order,  and  makes  them  all  fruitful  ;  whereas 
lacking  this  jewel,  there  is  nothing  here  on  earth 
but  will  testify  against  thee. 

Let  us,  then,  speak  of  this  faith  how  it  is 
wrought  in  you.  I  take  my  ground  out  of  the 
Evangelist  (John  vi.  44),  where  our  Master  says, 
"  No  man  can  come  to  me,  except  the  Father 
which  hath  sent  me  draw  him  "  :  Jn  which  words 
we  see  clearly  that  except  we  be  drawn,  except 
we  be  compelled,  except  we  be  thrust,  except 
from  unwilling  we  be  made  willing  by  God  the 
Father,  it  is  not  possible  for  us  to  come  to  His 
Sou.  What  is  the  reason  of  this  that  the  Spirit 
of  God  must  draw  us,  and  make  us  willing  before 
ever  we  come  to  God  ?  Because  by  nature  we 
are  not  only  wounded  and  lanced  by  sin  and 
iniquity,  but  as  the  Apostle  shows  (Ephes.  ii.  1), 
we  are  "wholly  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins": 
Yea  further,  observe  how  void  any  dead  body  is  of 
natural  life,  so  void  are  our  souls  (though  they  be 
living  the  natural  life)  of  the  life  of  God,  of  that 
heavenly  and  spiritual  life  whereunto  we,  in  this 
life,  do  aspire  :  until  the  time  that  the  Spirit  of 
God  draws,  i.e.  quickens  our  hearts  and  minds. 
Nay  !  it  is  not  a  "  drawing "  as  we  commonly 
speak,  it  is  the  very  "  quickening  "  of  a  dead  thing, 
—-of  a  thing  which  was  void  of  the  life  of  the 
Spirit.  Therefore,  except  the  Spirit  of  God  draw 


168  THE    FOURTH    SERMON 

us,  that  is,  quicken  us  with  that  spiritual  and 
heavenly  life,  it  is  not  possible  for  us  to  come  to 
heaven.  And  except  He  nourish  this  life  which 
He  has  begun,  it  is  not  possible  that  we  can 
stand  in  this  life  :  So  the  Spirit  of  God  is  said 
to  draw  us,  that  is,  to  begin  this  life  in  us,  and  by 
the  same  Holy  Spirit  to  continue  and  nourish  this 
life  in  us.  Now  by  the  drawing  of  the  Spirit 
our  souls  are  quickened  :  and  by  the  drawing  of 
the  Spirit,  I  understand  no  other  thing  but  the 
forging  and  creating  of  faith  in  our  souls,  which 
makes  us  new  creatures. 

Now  let  us  see  what  order  the  Spirit  of  God 
keeps,  in  drawing  us  and  in  forging  and  creating 
this  faith  in  our  souls  :  First  of  all  I  divide  the 
soul  into  no  more  parts  than  commonly  it  is  wont 
to  be  divided,  that  is,  into  the  heart  and  the 
mind.  Our  mind  then  being  a  cloud  of  darkness, 
altogether  blind  naturally,  there  being  nothing  in 
that  mind  of  ours  but  vanity  and  error,  whereby 
we  vanish  away,  and  can  never  long  continue  in 
any  good  purpose  ;  what  doth  the  Spirit  of  God  ? 
The  first  work  that  ever  the  Spirit  of  God  does, 
He  takes  order  with  the  mind  :  He  banishes  dark 
ness,  He  chases  out  vanity  and  blindness  that 
naturally  lurk  in  the  mind  ;  and  instead  of  this 
darkness  He  places  in  it,  a  light,  a  celestial  and 
heavenly  light,  a  light  which  is  resident  in  Christ 
Jesus  only.  Thus  the  Spirit  chases  out  that  cloud 
of  mist  and  darkness,  and  places  light  in  the  mind. 
And  what  works  He  by  this  light  ?  We  getting 
this  inward  light  and  a  sanctified  understanding, 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD\S    SUITKR     169 


immediately  He  makes  us  see  God  :  not  only  as 
God  the  Creator  of  the  world,  but  also  as  He  is 
God  Redeemer,  and  has  redeemed  us  in  His  Son 
Christ  Jesus. 

Now,  before  I  obtain  this  light,  what  are  my 
heart  and  mind  doing  ?  There  is  not  one  of  you 
but  has  experienced,  as  I  myself  have,  in  what 
state  the  heart  and  mind  are  before  this  light 
enters  :  The  mind  lies  drowned  in  blindness, 
and  the  heart  is  hardened,  and  they  both  con 
spire  together  in  one  vice,  to  set  up  an  Idol 
instead  of  God, — a  domestic  and  invisible  Idol  : 
what  sort  of  Idol  is  that  ?  No  doubt  some 
worldly  or  ileshly  affection  or  other  :  this  is 
set  up  on  the  throne  of  thy  heart ;  and  on  this 
Idol  tliou  bestowest  the  service  of  thy  whole 
heart,  of  thy  whole  mind,  of  thy  whole  soul 
and  body  :  So  that  the  service  of  thy  soul  and 
body  which  should  be  bestowed  on  God  only,  is 
employed  upon  that  Idol  which  is  set  up  in  thy 
heart,  that  is,  in  the  place  of  God,  in  the  stead 
of  the  Most  High.  And  thou  art  more  addicted 
to  the  service  of  that  Idol  than  ever  thou 
wast  to  the  service  of  the  living  God  :  yea  until 
such  time  as  this  Idol  of  ours  be  banished,  and 
this  blindness  through  which  it  is  served,  be 
taken  away,  there  is  not  one  of  you  but  arc 
servants  to  one  lust  or  other ;  and  thy  soul 
that  should  be  consecrated  to  the  service  of  the 
living  God,  is  employed  upon  some  affection, 
upon  some  worldly  or  fleshly  lust  of  thine 
own. 


170  THE    FOURTH    SERMON 

But  now,  from  the  time  that  the  Lord  begins 
to  scatter  the  clouds  of  our  natural  minds  and 
understandings,  and  begins  to  chase  away  this 
thick  mist  of  the  soul,  and  places  therein  some 
spark  of  heavenly  light  which  flows  out  of  Christ ; 
and  where  we  were  children  of  the  night  and 
darkness  before,  He  makes  us  to  be  light  in  the 
Lord,  and  to  be  children  of  the  light  and  of  the 
day.  Thus,  we  see  that  all  things  in  the  world, 
besides  the  living  God,  are  vanities,  deceivable 
allurements,  inconstant  shadows,  fleeting  and 
flowing  without  any  abiding  :  and  thus  we  see 
that  our  hearts  and  minds  were  set  on  evil 
continually.  Then  we  begin  to  abhor  that  Idol 
and  to  seek  to  serve  God  only.  Now  except 
the  Lord,  of  His  mercy  and  goodness,  place  in 
us  this  light ;  until  such  time  as  we  get  some 
glimmering  of  this  light,  we  can  never  see  our 
own  vanity,  far  less  see  God.  This  then  is  the 
first  work  of  the  Spirit.  He  banishes  darkness 
and  error,  and  places  light  in  our  minds.  Now 
this  first  work  of  the  Spirit,  is  expressed  often 
in  the  Scripture  under  the  name  of  faith  :  For 
the  mind  has  its  own  assent  and  persuasion  in 
its  own  kind  as  well  as  the  heart  has  :  and  there 
fore,  the  mind  being  illuminated  and  seasoned 
with  this  light,  the  assenting  and  knowledge  in 
the  same  mind  is  called  faith.  The  Apostles 
and  Evangelists  give  to  this  knowledge  the  name 
of  faith  :  for  from  the  time  that  thou  once  hast 
an  eye  to  know  God,  and  Christ  Jesus,  whom  He 
has  sent,  when  once  thou  gettest  sight  of  Him  and 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD'S    SUPPHR     171 


access   to    Him,  it'  it   were   110   more   than    in    the 
iniiul,  it  is  called  faith. 

But  we  must  not  stand  still  here  ;  if  faith  go 
no  farther  than  the  mind,  it  is  not  the  faith  that 
we  are  seeking.  For  the  faith  that  justifies  and 
does  us  good  must  open  the  heart,  as  well  as  the 
mind  ;  it  must  banish  that  idol  and  affection  out 
of  the  heart,  and  instead  thereof  place  a  throne 
for  Christ  Jesus.  So  that  except  the  good  Spirit 
of  God  go  further  than  the  mind,  and  banish  this 
idol  as  well  out  of  our  hearts  as  out  of  our  minds, 
we  have  not  that  justifying  faith  whereby  we  look 
for  mercy.  Yea  the  Spirit  of  God  must  not  only 
stand  in  enlightening  the  mind,  but  it  must 
mollify  this  heart  of  thine  and  change  thy  affec 
tions.  And  whereas  thy  affections  were  wicked 
and  evil,  God's  Spirit  must  change  the  will  :  and 
He  can  never  change  the  will,  except  He  make 
the  ground  of  thy  heart  good,  that  it  may  be  set 
on  God,  and  bring  forth  good  fruit  abundantly  to 
the  owner.  And  what  does  this  teach  ?  This 
teaches  you  to  seek  for  an  honest  heart,  and  to 
seek  earnestly  till  you  obtain  it.  Foi  what  avails 
it  any  man  to  know  what  is  good  or  what  is  evil, 
except  he  has  a  way  shown  him,  how  he  shall 
eschew  the  evil,  and  a  means  given  him  to  make 
himself  partaker  of  the  good  ?  Is  not  this  an 
idle  and  unprofitable  knowledge  to  me  to  see  afar 
off  and  to  know  that  this  is  good  for  me,  when  I 
find  not  a  means  how  to  be  partaker  of  that  good, 
that  it  may  be  a  special  good  to  me  ?  Is  it  not 


172  THE   FOURTH    SERMON 

an  idle  knowledge  also  to  perceive  that  this  is  ill 
for  me,  that  it  will  do  me  hurt  if  I  do  it ;  and 
yet  that  very  same  thing  will  I  do,  and  no  other  ? 
So  the  Spirit  of  God  links  these  two  together  in 
this  work  ;  and  as  He  reforms  the  mind,  He  re 
forms  also  the  heart  and  makes  you  to  be  par 
takers  of  that  good  which  you  see ;  and  to  eschew 
that  evil  which  you  perceive. 

And  this  is  the  second  work  of  the  Spirit,  not 
only  to  present  a  thing  to  thee,  but  to  make  it 
thine  in  effect.  For,  though  the  mind  should  do 
its  part  never  so  well  and  let  thee  see  that  Christ 
is  thine,  and  present  Him  to  thee  never  so  often  : 
yet  if  thy  heart  be  not  reformed,  that  evil  and 
crooked  affection  that  is  in  thy  heart  will  prefer 
itself  to  Christ  and  will  make  thee  to  account  all 
but  folly  in  respect  of  that  idol.  And  therefore 
it  were  an  idle  and  a  foolish  thing  for  me  to  see 
my  salvation,  except  I  get  grace  to  be  partaker  of 
it :  and  what  avails  it  thee  to  see  the  devil,  to 
see  thine  own  sins  that  slay  thee,  except  thou  get 
grace  to  eschew  them  ?  And  so  the  second  work 
of  the  Spirit  is  this.  He  enters  into  the  heart,  He 
overpowers  the  heart,  and  wonderfully  changes  it, 
and  makes  the  will  obedient :  He  mollifies  the 
affection  which  was  hard  before,  in  such  sort  that 
it  is  made  to  pour  out  thy  affection,  in  some 
measure,  on  the  living  God,  whereas  it  was  poured 
out  on  some  idol  of  thine  own  before.  Thus  ex 
cept  the  heart  will  do  its  part  as  the  mind  does, 
the  whole  soul  is  not  consecrated  to  God  :  for  God 
has  not  made  the  soul  so,  that  the  heart  should 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD'S    SUPPER     173 


serve  thyself,  and  the  mind  only  should  serve 
Him  ;  but  thy  service  is  then  only  acceptable  to 
God,  when  thou  consecratest  thy  heart  as  well  as 
thy  mind  to  Him. 

Now  this  matter  is  so  clear  that  it  needs 
not  to  be  illustrated  by  similitude  :  yet  to  make 
it  more  plain  to  you,  I  shall  show  you  by  a 
similitude,  that  the  apprehension  of  the  mind  is 
not  enough  except  ye  get  the  apprehension  of 
the  heart  also.  In  corporal  things,  in  meat  and 
drink  which  serve  for  the  use  of  your  bodies, 
there  must  be  two  sorts  of  apprehension  :  so  there 
are  also  two  sorts  of  apprehension  of  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ  Jesus,  which  is  our  meat 
and  drink  spiritual.  Of  meat  and  drink  corporal, 
there  is  one  apprehension  by  the  eye  and  by  the 
taste,  that  while  the  meat  is  present  to  you  on 
the  table,  your  eye  takes  a  view  of  that  meat, 
discerns  and  makes  choice  of  it :  and  not  only 
the  eye,  but  also  the  taste  discerns  the  meat, 
and  approves  it  ;  that  is  called  the  first  appre 
hension.  Now  upon  this  which  is  the  first,  the 
second  apprehension  follows  :  that  is,  after  you 
have  chewed  that  meat,  swallowed  it,  and  sent  it 
to  your  stomach,  where  it  digests  and  converts 
into  your  nourishment ;  then,  in  your  stomach 
you  get  the  second  apprehension.  But  if  your 
eye  like  not  that  meat,  neither  your  taste  like 
it,  the  second  apprehension  follows  not  ;  for  thou 
wilt  spit  it  out  again  or  reject  it,  preferring  some 
other  meat  that  thou  likest  better.  That  meat 
which  thou  likest  not,  never  enters  thy  stomach, 


174  THE    FOURTH    SERMON 

and  so  it  can  never  be  converted  into  thy  nourish 
ment  :  for  it  is  only  the  second  apprehension  of 
the  meat  that  is  the  cause  of  the  nourishment  of 
the  body,  in  our  corporal  food  ;  so  if  you  chew  not 
this  meat  and  swallow  it,  it  feeds  you  not ;  thus, 
it  is  only  the  second  apprehension  that  nourishes 
our  bodies. 

It  is  even  so  in  spiritual  things  (so  far  as  they 
may  be  compared).  In  the  food  of  Christ  Jesus, 
who  is  the  life  and  nurture  of  our  souls  and  con 
sciences,  there  must  be  two  sorts  of  apprehension. 
The  first  is  by  the  eye  of  the  mind  ;  that  is,  by 
our  knowledge  and  understanding  :  for  as  the  eye 
of  the  body  discerns  by  an  outward  light,  so  the 
eye  of  the  mind  discerns  by  an  inward  and  renewed 
understanding,  whereby  we  get  the  first  appre 
hension  of  Christ.  Now  if  this  first  apprehension 
of  Christ  please  us  well,  then  the  next  follows  : 
we  begin  to  cast  the  affection  of  our  hearts  on 
Him ;  we  have  good  will  to  Him  :  for  all  our 
affections  proceed  from  our  will,  and  our  affections 
being  renewed  and  made  holy,  we  set  them  wholly 
upon  Christ.  We  love  Him,  and  if  we  love  Him 
we  take  hold  of  Him  and  digest  Him  ;  that  is,  we 
apply  Him  to  our  souls  :  and  so  of  this  love  and 
liking,  the  second  apprehension  follows.  But  if 
we  have  no  will  to  Him,  if  we  have  no  love  nor 
liking  for  Him,  what  do  we  ?  We  reject  Him  and 
prefer  our  own  idol  and  the  service  of  our  own  affec 
tions  to  Him;  and  so  the  second  apprehension  follows 
not.  We  cannot  digest  Him ;  and  if  we  digest  Him 
not,  that  spiritual  life  cannot  grow  in  us.  For  in 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD'S    SUPPER     175 


what  relation  the  eye  serves  to  thy  body,  in  the 
same  relation  serve  knowledge  and  understanding 
to  thy  soul  :  and  in  what  relation  thy  hand,  thy 
mouth,  thy  taste  and  thy  stomach  serve  to  thy 
body  ;  in  that  very  relation  serve  the  heart  and 
affection  to  thy  soul.  So  that  as  our  bodies 
cannot  be  nourished  except  our  hands  take,  and 
our  mouths  eat  the  meat,  whereby  the  second 
apprehension  may  follow  :  likewise  our  souls 
cannot  feed  on  Christ,  except  we  hold  Him  and 
embrace  Him  heartily  by  our  will  and  affection. 
For  we  come  not  to  Christ  by  any  outward  motion 
of  our  bodies,  but  by  an  inward  motion  and  appre 
hension  of  the  heart.  For  God  finding  us  all 
in  a  reprobate  sense,  He  brings  us  to  Christ,  by 
reforming  the  affection  of  our  soul,  by  making  us 
to  love  Him.  Ami  therefore  the  second  appre 
hension  whereby  we  digest  our  Savour,  will  never 
take  place  in  our  souls,  except  as  He  pleases  the 
eye,  so  He  please  the  will  and  the  affection  also. 
Now  if  this  come  to  pass  that  our  wills  and  affec 
tions  are  wholly  bent  upon  Christ,  then  no  doubt, 
we  have  gotten  this  jewel  of  faith.  Have  you 
such  a  liking  in  your  minds,  and  such  a  love  in 
your  hearts  of  Christ,  that  ye  will  prefer  Him 
before  all  things  in  the  world  ?  Then  no  question 
faith  is  begun  in  you. 

Now  after  a  thing  is  begun,  there  is  yet  more 
required.  For  though  this  faith  be  formed  in 
your  minds,  in  your  hearts  and  souls,  yet  that  is 
not  enough  ;  but  that  which  is  formed  must  be 
nourished  ;  and  he  who  is  conceived  must  be 


176  THE   FOURTH    SERMON 

entertained  and  brought  up  :  or  else,  the  love 
that  is  begun  in  me  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  except 
by  ordinary  means  it  be  daily  entertained  and 
nourished,  will  decay  :  except  the  Lord  continue 
the  drawing  and  working  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  it  is 
not  possible  that  I  can  continue  in  the  faith. 
And  how  must  we  nourish  and  continue  faith  in 
our  souls  ?  Two  manner  of  ways.  First,  we 
nourish  faith  begun  in  our  souls  by  hearing  of 
the  word  ;  not  of  every  word,  but  by  hearing  of 
the  Word  of  God  preached  :  and  not  by  hearing 
of  every  man,  but  by  hearing  the  word  preached 
by  him  that  is  sent.  For  this  is  the  ordinary 
means  whereby  the  Lord  has  bound  Himself; 
He  will  work  faith  by  the  hearing  of  the  word 
and  receiving  of  the  sacraments.  And  the  more 
thou  hearest  the  word  and  the  oftener  thou  re- 
ceivest  the  sacraments,  the  more  thy  faith  is 
nourished.  Now,  it  is  not  only  by  hearing  of  the 
word  and  receiving  of  the  sacraments,  that  we 
nourish  faith.  The  word  and  sacraments  are  not 
able  of  themselves  to  nourish  this  faith  in  us, 
except  the  working  of  the  Holy  Spirit  be  con 
joined  with  their  ministry.  But  the  Word  and 
Sacraments  are  said  to  nourish  faith  in  our  souls, 
because  they  offer  and  exhibit  Christ  to  us,  who 
is  the  meat,  drink  and  life  of  our  souls  :  and  in 
respect  that  in  the  word  and  sacraments  we 
get  Christ  who  is  the  food  of  our  souls,  there 
fore  the  word  and  sacraments  are  said  to 
nourish  our  souls.  As  it  is  said  (Acts  ii.  42), 
the  disciples  of  Christ  were  earnestly  occupied, 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD'S    SUPPRR    177 


"and  continued  in  the  Apostles'  doctrine  and 
fellowship,  and  breaking  of  bread  and  prayers  "  ; 
by  these  means,  entertaining,  augmenting,  and 
nourishing  the  faith  that  was  begun  in  them. 
Thus  the  Holy  Spirit  begets  this  faith,  works  this 
faith,  creates  this  faith,  nourishes  and  entertains 
this  faitli  in  our  soul  by  hearing  the  word 
preached,  and  by  participation  of  the  sacraments  : 
which  are  the  ordinary  means,  whereby  the  Lord 
nourishes  us,  and  continues  this  spiritual  food 
with  us.  For,  observe,  by  what  means  the 
spiritual  life  is  begun,  by  the  same  means  is  it 
nourished,  and  entertained  ;  as  this  temporal  life 
is  entertained  and  nourished  by  the  same  means 
whereby  it  is  begun. 

Seeing  therefore  that  by  these  means  the  Holy 
Spirit  begets  this  work  of  faith  in  our  souls,  it  is 
our  duty  to  crave  that  He  would  continue  the 
work  which  He  has  begun.  And  for  this  cause 
we  should  resort  to  the  hearing  of  the  word 
when  it  is  preached,  and  to  the  receiving  of 
the  sacraments  when  they  are  ministered,  that 
we  may  be  fed  in  our  souls  to  life  everlasting. 

But  alas  !  we  are  come  to  such  a  loathing, 
disdain,  and  rejection  of  this  heavenly  food  in 
this  country,  that  where  men,  in  the  beginning, 
would  have  gone,  some,  twenty  miles,  some,  forty 
miles  to  the  hearing  of  the  word  :  they  will 
scarcely  now  come  from  their  houses  to  the 
Church,  and  remain  one  hour  to  hear  the  word, 
but  rather  abide  at  home.  Well,  I  say,  too  much 
wealth  makes  "  wit  waver,"  and  the  abundance 

M 


178  THE   FOURTH    SERMON 

of  this  word  engenders  such  a  loathsomeness, 
that  it  is  a  rare  thing  to  find  any  that  thirst 
and  desire  to  hear  the  word,  as  they  were  wont 
to  do  in  the  beginning. 

And  as  for  our  great  men,  they  will  not  hear 
it  at  all :  for  they  cannot  endure  to  hear  the 
thing  that  accuses  them,  and  convicts  them ; 
therefore  they  run  from  it.  But  they  should 
not  do  so ;  they  should  not  shun  Christ,  nor 
His  word  that  accuses  them.  They  should  hear 
the  word,  and  as  the  word  accuses  them,  they 
should  accuse  themselves  also,  that  thereby  they 
may  come  to  a  confession  of  their  sin,  and  obtain 
mercy  for  the  same. 

So  when  Christ  accuses  thee,  thou  shouldest 
not  run  from  Him,  thou  shouldst  draw  near  to 
Him ;  thou  shouldest  affirm  kinship  to  Him, 
and  as  it  were  make  a  breach  and  forcibly  enter 
into  His  kingdom.  It  is  not  the  way  when  thy 
sins  touch  thee,  and  when  Christ  accuseth  thee, 
to  run  from  Him  :  No  !  thou  shouldest  then  turn 
to  Him,  thou  shouldest  confess  thy  sin,  cry 
peccavi,  and  seek  mercy ;  and  after  thou  hast 
gotten  mercy,  this  word  shall  become  as  pleasant 
to  thee  and  thou  shalt  take  as  great  delight  to 
come  to  the  hearing  of  it,  as  ever  thou  de- 
lightedst  to  flee  from  it  before.  But  alas  !  our 
loathsomeness  and  disdain  is  grown  to  such  a 
height,  that  truly  I  am  moved  to  believe  firmly, 
that  the  Lord  has  concluded,  that  we  shall  not 
enter  unto  His  rest ;  and  that  solely  for  the  great 
contempt  of  His  mercy  and  grace,  which  are  now 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD'S    SUPPKR    179 


so  richly  offered.  For  why  ?  God  can  not  deal 
otherwise  with  us,  than  he  dealt  with  our  fore 
fathers  the  Israelites,  for  the  neglect  of  the 
Evangel,  which  was  then  but  obscurely  preached  : 
for  then,  it  was  far  from  the  Incarnation  of 
Christ;  and  the  farther  that  it  was  from  His 
Incarnation,  the  word  was  ever  the  more  obscurely 
preached,  under  dark  types  and  shadows.  Yet 
notwithstanding,  the  fathers  that  heard  that 
evangel  preached,  and  believed  it  not,  perished 
all  in  the  wilderness,  except  two  ;  as  you  have 
sometime  heard  from  this  place. 

And  if  they  perished  for  the  contempt  of  so 
dark  a  light,  much  more  must  you  that  are  their 
children  perish,  for  the  contempt  of  the  Sun  of 
righteousness,  who  is  risen  so  plainly  and  shines 
so  clearly  now,  in  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  ; 
except  the  Lord  in  His  mercy  prevent  you,  and 
except  you  prevent  His  judgments  by  earnest 
seeking,  and  except  you  seek  feeling  and  inward 
senses  that  you  may  see  and  feel  the  grace  that  is 
offered.  Crave  again  that  He  will  sanctify  your 
hearts  by  repentance,  that  you  may  repent  you 
of  your  sins,  and  lead  an  honest  and  godly  con 
versation  in  all  time  to  come ;  that  both  body 
and  soul  may  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the  Lord. 
The  Lord  work  this  in  your  souls,  that  you  may 
seek  mercy  ;  and  seeking  mercy  may  obtain 
mercy ;  and  in  mercy,  may  lay  hold  on  Christ, 
and  that  for  His  righteous  merits.  To  whom  witli 
the  Father,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  all  honour, 
praise  and  glory,  both  now,  and  ever.  Amen. 


THE  FIFTH  AND  LAST  SERMON 

UPON  THE  PREPARATION  TO  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER 

(Preached  the  second  day  of  March  1589) 

Let  every  man  therefore  examine  himself,  and  so  let  him  eat 
of  this  bread,  and  drink  of  this  cup,  &c. — 1  Cor.  xi.  28. 

IN  the  doctrine  of  our  trial  and  due  examination, 
the  Apostle  as  you  heard,  (well  beloved  in  Christ 
Jesus)  gave  us  a  special  command  that  every  one 
of  us  should  try  and  narrowly  examine  ourselves : 
that  is,  that  every  man  should  condescend  and 
enter  into  his  own  conscience,  try  and  examine 
the  state  of  his  own  conscience,  in  what  state  he 
finds  it  with  God  ;  and  in  what  state  he  finds  it 
with  his  neighbour.  He  enjoins  this  trial  upon 
ourselves,  and  commands  that  every  one  of  us 
should  take  pains  about  the  true  examination  of 
our  consciences.  He  enjoins  this  work  upon  us, 
why  ?  Because  no  man  knows  so  much  of  me,  as 
I  do  myself;  because  no  man  can  be  sure  of  the 
state  of  my  conscience,  but  I  myself;  because  no 
man  can  so  diligently,  nor  so  profitably  try  my 
conscience,  as  I  myself.  Therefore,  chiefly,  it 
becomes  every  man  and  woman,  before  they  enter 
in  to  the  hearing  of  the  word,  before  they  give 
their  ear  to  the  word,  or  their  mouth  to  the 
sacrament,  it  becomes  them  to  try  and  examine 

180 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD'S    SUPPKR    181 


their  own  consciences.  Not  that  the  Apostle 
would  seclude  the  trial  from  other  men  :  for  as  it 
is  lawful  for  me  to  try  myself,  so  no  doubt  it  is 
lawful  for  my  Pastor  to  try  me.  It  is  lawful  for 
other  men  that  have  a  care  over  me  to  try,  and 
examine  me  ;  but  no  man  can  do  this  so  profitably 
to  me  as  I  myself.  And  though  we  had  never  so 
many  triers  and  examiners,  all  is  lost  if  we  try 
not  ourselves.  So  whether  there  be  a  second  or 
a  third  trier,  let  ourself  be  one,  and  the  first. 
And  no  doubt  the  Apostle's  mind  was  this,  to  let 
us  see  clearly,  that  he  that  comes  to  this  Table, 
and  has  not  that  knowledge,  nor  is  of  that  ability 
to  try  himself,  is  a  profane  comer,  comes  uncleanly  ; 
and  therefore  must  come  only  to  his  destruction. 
Let  every  man  therefore  grow  in  knowledge,  in 
understanding,  in  the  Spirit,  that  he  may  be  the 
more  able  to  try  and  examine  his  own  conscience. 
To  the  end  that  you  may  go  forward  and 
proceed  in  the  work  of  this  trial,  with  better 
speed,  and  with  the  better  fruits  ;  in  this  examina 
tion  we  laid  down  this  order :  First  of  all,  I 
showed,  what  this  is  which  we  call  a  conscience, 
and  what  is  meant  thereby.  Next,  I  declared  for 
what  causes  ye  should  put  your  consciences  to 
this  trial  and  narrow  examination.  And  thirdly, 
so  far  as  time  suffered,  I  entered  into  the  points, 
wherein  every  one  of  you  should  try  and  examine 
your  own  consciences.  As  for  conscience,  that  ye 
may  recall  that  definition  to  your  memory,  I  shall 
resume  it  shortly.  We  call  conscience,  a  certain 
feeling  in  the  heart,  resembling  the  righteous 


182  THE    FIFTH    SERMON 

judgment  of  God,  following  upon  a  deed  done  by 
us,  flowing  from  a  knowledge  in  the  mind.  A 
feeling,  accompanied  with  a  motion  in  the  heart ; 
a  motion  either  of  fear  or  joy,  of  trembling  or 
rejoicing.  I  leave  the  opening  up  of  these  points 
to  your  memories,  and  I  pray  God,  that  they  may 
be  well  sanctified.  I  come  next  to  the  causes, 
wherefore  every  one  of  you  should  be  careful  in 
trying  and  examining  your  own  consciences.  The 
first  cause  is,  because  the  Lord  of  heaven  has  His 
eye  continually  upon  the  conscience  :  the  eye  of 
God  is  never  off  the  conscience  and  heart  of  man, 
as  I  proved  to  you  by  diverse  places.  Next, 
because  this  God  has  chosen  His  lodging,  and  has 
set  down  His  throne,  to  make  His  residence  in 
the  conscience  :  Therefore,  that  He  may  dwell  in 
cleanness,  you  ought  to  have  a  regard  to  His  dwell 
ing-place.  Thirdly,  He  is  the  Lord,  yea  the  only 
Lord  of  thy  conscience,  who  alone  has  power  to 
control,  to  save  or  to  cast  away.  Therefore  that 
it  may  do  good  service  to  thy  own  Lord,  thou 
oughtest  to  take  heed  to  thy  conscience.  And 
last  of  all,  in  respect  that  the  health  of  thy  soul 
stands  in  the  state  of  thy  conscience,  and  if  thy 
soul  be  in  good  health,  thy  body  cannot  be  ill  : 
therefore,  in  respect  that  soul  and  body  depend 
upon  the  state  of  the  conscience,  every  one  of  you 
should  carefully  look  to  your  consciences.  I  will 
not  amplify  this,  but  leave  it  to  your  memories, 
how  the  health  and  welfare  of  the  soul  should  be 
kept.  Next  I  came,  in  the  third  and  last  place, 
to  the  points  in  which  everyone  of  you  should  try 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD  S    SUPPER    183 

and  examine  your  consciences.  And,  as  you  may 
remember,  I  set  down  two  points  wherein  you 
ought  to  put  your  consciences  in  trial  :  First,  to 
know  whether  your  conscience  was  at  peace  with 
God  or  not :  Secondly,  whether  your  conscience 
was  in  love,  in  charity,  and  in  amity  with  your 
neighbour  or  not  :  In  these  two  points  chiefly 
you  must  try  and  examine  yourselves.  To  know 
whether  you  be  at  peace  with  God  or  not,  ye 
must  first  try  (as  the  Apostle  speaks)  whether 
you  be  in  the  faith  of  Christ  or  not  :  For  being 
in  the  faith  and  justified  thereby,  of  necessity  you 
must  have  peace  with  God.  Therefore,  the  next 
care  must  be  to  try  your  faith,  and  to  see  whether 
you  have  faith  or  not.  Faith  can  no  ways  be 
tried  but  by  its  fruits  :  Faith  cannot  be  judged 
by  me  that  look  upon  it,  in  any  other  way  than 
by  its  effects.  Therefore,  to  try  whether  you  be  in 
the  faith  or  not,  mark  the  fruits  ;  take  heed  to 
thy  mouth,  to  thy  hand,  to  thy  words  and  to 
thy  deeds  :  for  except  thou  glorify  God  with  thy 
mouth,  and  confess  to  thy  salvation,  and  except 
thou  glorify  Him  also  in  thy  deeds,  and  make  thy 
holy  life  a  witness  to  thy  holy  faith,  all  is  but 
vain,  all  is  but  mere  hypocrisy. 

Therefore,  to  know  the  sincerity  of  thy  faith, 
thou  must  take  heed  that  there  be  a  harmony 
between  thy  hand,  thy  mouth,  and  thy  heart, 
that  there  be  a  mutual  consent,  that  neither  thy 
doings  nor  thy  mouth  prejudge  thy  heart,  but  that 
mouth  and  hand  may  testify  thy  sincerity.  If 
the  heart,  the  hand,  and  the  mouth,  consent  and 


184  THE    FIFTH    SERMON 

agree  in  one  harmony  together ;  no  question,  that 
heart  that  breaks  forth  into  so  good  fruits  is 
coupled  with  God  ;  there  is  no  question,  the 
light  of  thy  actions,  the  beams  and  shining  of  thy 
life,  shall  make  the  name  of  thy  good  God  to  be 
glorified. 

Therefore,  the  whole  weight  of  our  trial,  stands 
chiefly  on  this  point,  to  see  whether  we  be  in  the 
faith  or  not ;  to  examine  whether  Christ  dwells 
in  us  by  faith  or  not  :  for  without  faith  there  can 
be  no  coupling  or  conjoining  between  us  and 
Christ ;  without  faith  our  hearts  cannot  be  sancti 
fied  and  cleansed  ;  and  without  faith  we  cannot 
work  by  charity  :  so  all  depends  on  this  alone. 
And  therefore  that  you  might  the  better  understand 
whether  you  have  faith  or  no,  I  was  somewhat 
more  exact  in  this  matter,  and  I  began  to  let  you 
see  how  the  Holy  Spirit  creates  faith  and  works 
faith  in  your  souls,  hearts  and  minds  :  I  began 
to  show  you  what  order  the  Holy  Spirit  keeps  in 
forming  and  creating  this  notable  instrument 
in  your  hearts  and  minds.  Not  only  how  He 
engenders  and  begins  faith,  but  also  how  He 
entertains  and  nourishes  it.  And  we  showed  you 
the  external  means  and  instruments,  which  He 
uses  to  this  effect.  To  beget  faith  in  our  souls, 
the  Holy  Spirit  uses  the  hearing  of  the  word 
preached  by  him  that  is  sent,  and  the  ministry 
of  the  sacraments,  as  ordinary  means  and  instru 
ments  :  which  ordinary  means  are  only  then 
effectual,  when  the  Holy  Spirit  concurs  inwardly 
in  our  hearts,  with  the  word  striking  outwardly 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD'S    SUPPER    185 


on  our  ear,  and  with  the  sacrament  outwardly 
received.  And  except  the  Holy  Spirit  grant  His 
concurrence  to  the  word  and  to  the  sacrament, 
word  and  sacrament  will  not  work  faith.  So  all 
depends  upon  the  working  of  the  Holy  Spirit  : 
the  whole  regeneration  of  mankind,  the  renewing 
of  the  heart  and  of  the  conscience,  depends  on 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  therefore 
it  behoves  us  carefully  to  employ  our  labours  in 
calling  upon  God  for  his  Holy  Spirit.  By  the 
same  means  and  no  other,  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
begets  faith  in  us,  by  the  same  means  He  nourishes 
and  augments  that  which  He  has  begotten.  And 
therefore,  as  we  get  faith  by  the  hearing  of  the 
word,  so  by  continual  and  diligent  hearing,  we 
have  this  faith  augmented  and  nourished  in  us. 
And  hence  I  drew  out  my  exhortation,  that  if  you 
would  have  spiritual  life  nourished  in  you,  and  if 
you  would  have  further  assurance  of  huaven,  of 
necessity,  you  must  both  continually  and  diligently 
hear  the  blessed  word  of  God. 

Now  it  remains  that  every  one  of  you  carefully 
apply  this  doctrine  to  your  own  souls,  and  enter 
into  the  trial  of  your  own  consciences,  to  see  if 
this  faith  be  begun  in  your  hearts  and  minds,  or 
not  :  how  far,  or  how  little  the  Holy  Spirit  has 
proceeded  in  that  work,  examine  along  with  me, 
and  I  with  you.  The  first  effect  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  whereby  you  may  try  your  minds,  whether 
you  be  in  the  faith  or  not,  is  this  :  Revolve  in 
your  memories,  if,  at  any  time,  it  pleased  the 
Lord  in  his  mercy  to  turn  the  darkness  of  your 


186  THE    FIFTH    SERMON 

mind  into  light,  to  cause  that  darkness  which  was 
in  you  to  depart :  through  the  which  darkness, 
neither  had  you  an  eye  to  see  yourselves  what  you 
were  by  nature,  nor  had  you  yet  an  eye  to  see 
God  in  Christ,  nor  any  part  of  His  mercy.  Examine, 
I  say,  whether  this  darkness  of  the  natural  under 
standing  be  turned  into  light  by  the  working  of 
the  Spirit  or  not.  If  thou  art  become  a  child  of 
the  light  and  of  the  day  ;  if  thou  art  become  (as 
the  Apostle  speaks)  "  light  in  the  Lord  "  :  if  there 
be  this  alteration  made  in  thy  mind,  that  whereas 
naturally  before  it  was  closed  up  in  darkness, 
whereas  it  was  filled  with  vanities  and  errors, 
whereas  it  was  closed  up  in  blindness  :  If  the 
Lord  has  at  any  time  enlightened  the  eye  of  thy 
mind,  and  made  thee  to  see  thine  own  misery,  to 
see  the  ugliness  of  thine  own  nature,  to  see 
the  heinous  sins  in  which  by  nature  thou  liest  ; 
If  He  has  granted  thee  an  insight  of  thyself  in 
any  measure  ;  and  on  the  other  hand  if  He  has 
granted  thee  the  remedy,  and  has  given  thee  a 
sight  of  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  if  thou 
hast  obtained  a  sight  of  the  riches  of  His  grace  in 
Christ ;  no  doubt  the  Holy  Spirit  has  begun  a  good 
work  in  thee,  a  work  which  will  bring  forth  repent 
ance  and  which  in  His  own  time  He  will  perfect. 
So  this  is  the  first  care  you  ought  to  have,  and  the 
first  point  wherein  you  ought  to  examine  your 
your  mind,  to  see  if  there  be  any  light  in  it, 
whereby  you  may  know  your  misery,  and  have  an 
insight  of  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus. 

This  being  done,  that  thou  findest  a  sight  of 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD  S    SUPPER    187 

these  two  in  thy  mind,  from  thy  mind  go  to  thy 
heart :  and  as  thou  hast  tried  thy  mind,  so  try 
thy  heart.  And  first  examine  thine  heart,  it'  it 
be  altered  or  not,  that  the  will  of  it  be  framed 
and  bowed  to  God's  obedience,  that  thy  affection 
be  turned  into  the  love  of  God,  and  be  poured 
out  on  Him,  as  it  was  poured  out  on  vanities,  on 
filth iness,  and  on  the  world  before.  Try  whether 
the  ground  of  thy  heart  and  the  fountain  from 
whence  thy  motions  and  affections  proceed  be 
sanctified  or  not.  For  from  a  holy  fountain,  holy 
waters  must  distil  :  from  a  holy  fountain,  holy 
motions,  holy  cogitations,  and  sanctified  con 
siderations  must  ilow. 

Try  then  and  examine  your  heart,  if  the  spirit 
of  God  has  wrought  any  such  reformation  (as  I 
speak  of)  in  your  heart  or  not.  And  that  you 
may  the  better  perceive  the  working  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  your  heart  and  conscience  (for  He  makes 
His  residence  chiefly  in  the  heart)  ;  I  shall  de 
clare  to  you  the  first  effect  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
brings  forth  in  the  heart,  in  framing,  mollifying 
and  bowing  it  to  the  obedience  of  God.  You 
shall  know  the  working  of  the  Holy  Spirit  by  this 
effect  :  namely,  if  your  mind  sees  and  beholds 
what  is  good,  perceives  and  discerns  your  own 
misery,  and  your  sins  which  have  cast  you  into 
this  misery ;  and  withal  perceives  and  beholds 
the  riches  of  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ.  If  as 
your  mind  sees  these  two,  your  heart  be  reformed 
and  prepared  to  love  the  sight  of  them;  and 'as 
you  see  in  your  mind  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ, 


188  THE    FIFTH    SERMON 

if  you  have  an  heart  to  desire  mercy,  if  you  have 
a  thirst  and  earnest  desire  to  be  partaker  of 
mercy ;  where  this  desire  and  thirst  are,  there 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  ;  He  has  no  doubt  opened  the 
heart.  Upon  the  other  side,  if  as  thou  seest 
mercy,  thou  seest  thy  misery ;  if  as  thy  mind 
sees  thy  misery,  it  sees  also  the  fountain  from 
whence  thy  misery  flows,  to  wit,  from  thine  own 
sins  ;  If,  then,  thy  heart  also  hate  this,  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  there  :  if  as  thou  seest  sin,  which  is  the 
cause  of  thy  misery,  with  the  eye,  which  is  given 
thee  in  thy  mind,  thou  hatest  this  sin  with  thy 
heart,  no  question  the  Holy  Spirit  is  there.  And 
as  thou  hatest  it,  if  also  thou  sorrow  for  it  (for  it 
is  not  enough  to  hate  it,  if  thou  lament  not  the 
committing  of  it,  and  with  a  godly  sorrow  deplore 
it)  the  Holy  Spirit  is  there.  And  thirdly,  if  with 
thy  lamenting  thou  hast  a  care  and  a  study  to 
eschew  that  sin  (for  what  avails  it  to  lament,  if, 
like  a  dog  returning  to  his  vomit,  thou  fall  into 
that  same  gulf  again  ?).  Therefore,  where  there 
is  a  hatred  of  sin,  a  sorrow  for  sin,  a  care  and  a 
study  to  eschew  sin  ;  no  question  the  Holy  Spirit 
has  opened  the  heart,  and  is  working  out  that 
precious  instrument. 

Observe  all  this  in  a  word,  all  the  operation 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  His  working  in  the  heart  ; 
and  by  this  examine  thine  heart  :  See  and  per 
ceive  if  the  Holy  Spirit  has  entered  so  far  with 
thee,  to  work  in  that  hard  heart  of  thine  an 
earnest  and  diligent  study,  a  careful  solicitude, 
continually  to  be  reconciled  with  the  great  God 


PREPARATION   TO    LORD'S    SUPPER     189 


whom  thou  hast  offended  :  Is  there  such  a  thing 
as  a  thirst,  a  desire,  to  be  at  amity  with  Him, 
whom  thou  hast  grieved,  to  be  reconciled  with 
the  God  of  heaven,  whom  thou  hast  offended  by 
thy  manifold  transgressions  ?  where  this  care  and 
study  of  reconciliation  are,  there  is  no  doubt  but 
the  heart  that  thirsts  for  this  reconciliation  is 
heartily  content  not  only  to  renounce  sin,  to 
renounce  all  the  impieties  that  separated  thee 
from  (Jod  ;  but  the  heart  that  is  indued  with  this 
thirst,  will  be  heartily  content  to  renounce  itself 
(for  as  stubborn  as  it  was  before),  to  cast  itself 
down  at  the  feet  of  the  mighty  God,  and  be 
wholly  content,  in  all  time  coming,  to  be  ruled 
by  His  holy  will  :  not  to  follow  its  own  lust,  its 
own  will  and  appetite,  as  it  did  before  ;  but  to 
resign  itself  wholly  into  the  hands  of  the  mighty 
God,  to  be  ruled  by  His  will,  and  to  obey  His 
commands.  And  except  ye  find  this  disposition 
in  your  own  heart,  to  quit  yourself,  to  renounce 
yourself,  it  is  a  vain  thing  for  you  to  say,  that 
you  have  a  thirst  to  be  reconciled.  So  the  greater 
thirst  of  reconciliation  that  we  have,  and  the 
more  that  this  study  grows,  the  greater  that  the 
apprehension  of  my  misery,  of  the  deep  gulfs, 
and  very  hells  (whereunto  my  soul  is  subject) 
increases  in  my  soul,  the  more  earnest  would  I 
be  to  be  reconciled.  And  to  be  reconciled,  I 
would  not  hesitate  to  renounce  the  lusts  of  my 
heart,  but  I  would  renounce  my  heart  itself, 
and  the  obedience  of  its  will  and  desire  :  why  ? 
Because  I  see  I  must  die  for  ever,  I  see  the 


190  THE   FIFTH    SERMON 

huge  deeps  and  oceans  of  all  misery,  in  the 
which  I  shall  fall  in  the  end,  except  in  mercy 
the  Lord  reconcile  Himself  with  me.  To  eschew 
these  deeps,  is  there  any  question  but  the  heart 
that  has  any  sense  and  is  touched  with  them, 
will  most  willingly  renounce  itself?  Again,  see 
ing  the  Lord  has  taken  pains  to  deliver  ine 
out  of  that  deep  misery  in  the  which  I  had 
drowned  myself,  and  has  purchased  my  redemp 
tion  with  so  costly  a  price  ;  not  with  gold,  nor 
with  silver,  nor  with  any  dross  of  the  earth,  but 
in  a  way  so  wonderful  by  such  a  precious  price, 
and  rich  ransom  ;  looking  to  the  greatness  of 
our  misery,  and  to  the  greatness  of  the  price 
whereby  He  hath  redeemed  us,  what  heart  is 
there  but  would  willingly  renounce  itself,  to  get 
a  part  in  that  redemption,  and  to  be  delivered 
out  of  that  hell  wherein  we  are  presently,  and 
wherein  we  shall  be,  in  greater  measure  hereafter, 
except  we  be  reconciled  ?  So  then  with  this 
choice  there  is  joined  a  disposition  in  the  heart, 
whereby  the  heart  is  willing  in  some  measure  to 
renounce  itself.  This  lesson  is  often  taught  us 
by  Christ  in  His  Gospel  ;  we  must  both  take  up 
the  cross  and  renounce  ourselves  also,  before  we 
can  follow  Him.  The  more  that  this  thirst 
grows  in  the  heart,  the  more  this  renouncing  of 
ourselves  grows.  On  the  other  hand  the  more 
this  thirst  decays  and  is  diminished  in  the  heart, 
the  more  we  cleave  to  the  world,  and  to  the  flesh, 
the  more  are  we  ruled  and  guided  by  them. 
So  either  we  must  nourish  a  hunger  of  life  ever- 


PREPARATION    TO    LORI)'s    SUPPRR    191 


lasting,  a  thirst  for  mercy,  a  hunger  after  that 
righteousness  that  is  in  Christ,  or  otherwise  it  is 
not  possible  that,  in  any  measure,  we  can  be  His 
disciples. 

Now  to  proceed  :  The  heart  that  after  this 
manner  is  prepared,  that  with  a  thirst  to  be 
reconciled,  is  resolved  also  to  renounce  itself; 
this  heart  in  which  there  lies  so  earnest  a  thirst, 
is  never  frustrated  of  its  expectation,  is  never 
disappointed.  But  as  the  Lord  has  imprinted  in 
it  an  earnest  study  to  be  reconciled,  and  to  lay 
hold  on  Christ :  so  He  puts  that  heart,  in  some 
measure,  in  possession  of  the  mercy  which  it 
seeks,  in  possession  of  Christ  Jesus  Himself : 
the  which  apprehension  of  Christ,  the  heart 
sensibly  feels,  and  takes  hold  of  in  that  peace 
which  He  gives  to  the  conscience.  So  that  the 
conscience  which  was  terrified,  exceedingly  gnawed 
and  distracted  before,  is  immediately  quieted  and 
pacified  by  the  entrance  of  this  peace  and  of 
Christ  with  His  graces.  There  comes  a  calmness 
and  soundness  into  the  heart,  and  all  troubles  and 
storms  are  removed. 

With  this  peace  is  conjoined  a  taste  of  the 
powers  of  the  world  to  come  ;  the  heart  gets  a 
taste  of  the  sweetness  that  is  in  Christ,  of 
the  joy  which  is  in  the  life  everlasting,  which 
taste  is  only  the  earnest-penny  of  that  full  and 
perfect  joy  on  which  soul  and  body  in  that  life 
shall  enter.  And  therefore  that  earnest-penny  of 
joy  assures  us,  that  when  we  shall  get  possession 
of  the  whole  sum,  it  shall  be  a  strange  gladness  : 


192  THE   FIFTH    SERMON 

and  these  proofs  lift  up  the  heart,  and  make  it  not 
to  linger,  nor  weary  in  the  expectation  of  that  life  ; 
but  being  refreshed  now  and  then,  as  by  so  many 
earnest-pennies,  they  assure  us  of  the  full  fruition 
of  that  joy,  for  the  which,  in  patience,  we  shall 
sustain  all  troubles.  So  as  the  Holy  Spirit  works 
a  thirst  in  us  for  Christ,  a  thirst  for  mercy  and 
reconciliation  with  Him  ;  the  same  Holy  Spirit 
disappoints  not  that  expectation  but  puts  the  soul 
and  heart  in  possession  of  Christ,  by  the  which 
conscience  is  pacified,  the  heart  is  rejoiced,  and 
we  get  a  taste  of  the  sweetness  and  of  the  powers 
of  that  life  to  come.  The  sensible  feeling  of  which 
taste,  that  passes  all  natural  understanding,  what 
does  it  in  my  heart  and  conscience  ?  It  works 
a  wonderful  assurance  and  persuasion  that  God 
loves  me  :  The  feeling  of  His  mercy  in  the  bowels 
of  my  heart,  in  the  bottom  of  my  conscience,  works 
a  certain  assurance  and  persuasion  that  He  is  my 
God,  that  He  will  save  me  for  Christ's  sake,  that 
the  promise  of  mercy,  which  I  durst  not  for  my 
life  apply  to  my  conscience  before,  now  by  the 
feeling  of  mercy  I  dare  boldly  apply,  and  say, 
"  mercy  appertains  to  me ;  life  and  salvation 
belong  to  me  !  " 

For  the  conscience  being  exceedingly  terrified, 
and  seeing  nothing  in  God  but  fire  and  wrath,  it  is 
not  possible  but  it  must  flee  from  Him  ;  it  cannot 
approach  to  a  consuming  fire.  But  from  the  time 
that  the  conscience  gets  a  taste  of  this  peace, 
mercy  and  sweetness ;  how  fast  soever  it  fled 
from  God  before,  so  fast  will  it  now  run  to  Him, 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD  S    SUPPER     193 

after  this  reconciliation,  and  will  possess  Him 
more  and  more  fully.  So  the  assurance  and 
persuasion  of  mercy  arises  from  the  feeling  of 
mercy  in  the  heart  and  conscience.  And  except 
the  heart  feel  it  and  taste  it,  in  some  measure,  no 
conscience  dare  apply  God  and  His  mercy  to  itself. 
I  may  be  sure,  in  general,  that  all  my  sins  are 
remissible,  and  that  I  may  obtain  mercy,  before  I 
feel  it.  But  to  apply  this  mercy  particularly  to 
myself,  I  dare  not  until  I  feel  a  taste  of  it.  So 
this  particular  application  whereby  we  claim  God 
and  Christ  as  belonging  to  us,  as  if  no  man  had 
title  to  Him  but  we,  and  to  call  Him  my  God,  my 
Christ  ;  and  to  claim  His  promises,  as  if  no  man 
had  interest  in  them  but  we  ;  this  comes  of  the 
sense  and  feeling  of  mercy  in  the  heart.  And  the 
more  that  this  feeling  grows,  and  the  farther 
experience  we  have  in  our  own  hearts  of  this 
peace  and  mercy,  the  greater  grows  our  faith  and 
assurance.  Our  persuasion  becomes  so  strong, 
that  we  dare  at  the  last  to  say  with  the  Apostle, 
"  What  can  separate  me  from  the  love  of  God  ? 
Neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  princi 
palities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor 
things  to  come,  shall  be  able  to  separate  me 
from  the  love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus 
our  Lord." 

This  particular  application  which  arises  (no 
doubt)  upon  the  feeling  and  sense  of  mercy  is  the 
specific  difference,  the  chief  mark  and  proper  note, 
whereby  our  faith,  who  are  justified  in  the  blood 
of  Christ,  is  discerned  from  that  general  faith  of  the 


194  THE    FIFTH    SERMON 

Papists.  Our  faith  by  this  particular  application, 
is  not  only  discerned  from  the  general  faith  of  the 
Papists,  but  is  discerned  from  all  the  pretended 
faiths  of  all  the  sects  in  the  world.  For  the 
Papist  dares  not  apply  the  promise  of  mercy  to 
his  own  soul :  he  accounts  it  presumption  to  say, 
"  I  am  elect,  I  am  saved  and  justified."  And 
whence  flows  this  ?  Only  from  hence  ;  that  in  their 
conscience  they  have  never  felt  mercy,  they  have 
never  tasted  of  the  love,  favour  and  sweetness  of 
God.  For  as  fast,  observe,  as  the  conscience 
flees  from  God  before  it  gets  the  taste  of  His 
sweetness;  so  diligently  it  runs  to  Him  after  it 
has  gotten  that  taste.  So  they,  miserable 
men,  content  themselves  with  this  general  faith, 
which  is  no  other  thing  than  a  historical  faith — 
grounded  only  on  the  truth  of  God,  whereby  we 
know  that  the  promises  of  God  are  true.  But 
the  Papist  dares  not  come  and  say,  'They  are  true 
in  me.'  Why  ?  Because  he  has  not  felt  it,  and 
the  heart  of  him  is  not  opened.  But  our  justifying 
faith,  as  I  told  yon,  consecrates  the  whole  soul 
into  the  obedience  of  God  in  Christ.  So  that  it 
rests  not  only  upon  the  truth  of  God,  nor  upon 
the  power  of  God,  (though  these  be  two  chief 
pillars  of  our  faith  also)  but  especially  and  chiefly, 
it  rests  upon  the  promise  of  grace  and  mercy  in 
Christ.  The  soul  of  the  Papist,  being  destitute 
of  the  feeling  and  taste  of  mercy,  dare  not  enter 
into  this  particular  application,  and  so  he  cannot 
be  justified.  Though  no  doubt,  so  many  of  them 
as  are  justified,  in  the  mercy  of  God,  get  a  taste  of 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD'S    SUPPER     195 


this  kindness  before  they  die.  Thus  far  concerning 
the  effects. 

Then  you  have  only  this  to  remember  :  The 
opening  of  the  heart,  the  pacifying  and  quieting 
of  the  conscience,  work  an  assurance  and  strong 
persuasion  of  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ.  The 
more  that  the  heart  is  opened,  the  more  that  the 
conscience  is  pacified,  the  more  that  the  taste  of 
that  sweetness  continues  and  remains,  the  more 
art  thou  assured  of  God's  mercy.  So  then 
wouldest  thou  know  whether  thy  faith  be  strong 
or  not,  whether  thy  persuasion  of  God's  mercy  be 
sure  or  not  ?  Look  to  thy  conscience.  If  thy 
conscience  be  wounded,  assuredly  thou  wilt  doubt  : 
and  if  thou  doubtest,  thou  canst  not  have  such  a 
strong  persuasion  as  otherwise  thou  wouldest  have, 
were  thy  doubting  removed.  Not  that  I  will 
have  faith  to  be  so  perfect  in  this  life,  that  there 
never  will  be  any  doubting  joined  with  it  ;  1 
claim  not  that  perfection  :  but  I  say,  that  a 
v/ou  tided  conscience  must  ever  doubt  ;  and  the 
more  we  doubt,  the  less  is  our  persuasion.  So 
the  more  thou  wound  thy  conscience,  the  less 
faith  thou  hast.  Therefore  thou  must  come  to 
this  point  :  Keep  a  sound  conscience,  entertain 
peace  in  thy  conscience,  and  thou  shalt  keep 
faith,  and  shalt  have  thy  persuasion  in  the  same 
measure  thou  hast  of  rest  and  peace  in  thy 
conscience.  And  the  more  that  thy  conscience  is 
at  rest,  the  greater  shall  thy  faith  and  persuasion  be. 

So  this  ground  is  certain  :  A  doubting  con 
science  causes  weak  faith ;  and  the  more  the 


196  THE   FIFTH    SERMON 

doubting  in  thy  conscience,  the  weaker  is  thy 
faith.  Thus  true  it  is  that  the  Apostle  says, 
that  faith  dwells  in  a  good  conscience,  that  faith 
is  locked  and  closed  up  in  a  good  conscience.  So 
that  if  you  keep  a  good  conscience,  you  shall  keep 
a  strong  faith  :  and  if  you  wound  your  conscience, 
you  shall  wound  your  faith.  Now  to  make  this 
more  sensible.  How  can  I  be  persuaded  of  His 
mercy  whose  anger  I  feel  kindled  against  me  and 
against  whom  my  conscience  shows  me  that  I  am 
guilty  of  many  offences  ?  No  question  so  long  as 
the  sense  of  His  anger,  and  feeling  of  my  offences 
remains,  I  cannot  have  a  sure  persuasion  that  He 
will  be  merciful  to  me  :  but  when  I  get  access  to 
His  countenance,  and  a  sight  that  He  has  forgiven 
me,  then  I  begin  to  be  surely  persuaded.  So 
then,  keep  a  good  conscience,  and  thou  shalt  keep 
faith  ;  and  the  better  that  thy  conscience  is,  the 
surer  will  thy  faith  be. 

Thus  the  whole  exhortation  that  we  gather 
from  this  point,  depends  on  this  :  That  every 
one  of  you,  in  what  rank  soever  you  be,  take  heed 
to  your  conscience  :  for  losing  it,  you  lose  faith  ; 
and  losing  faith,  you  lose  salvation.  Are  you  in 
the  rank  of  great  men  ?  You  ought  to  take  heed 
to  your  consciences  :  especially  in  respect  that  the 
Lord  has  placed  you  in  a  great  calling.  You 
have  many  things  wherein  you  ought  to  control 
your  consciences ;  you  ought  to  crave  the  advice 
of  your  conscience  before  you  attempt  any  great 
work,  in  respect  that  you  are  bound  in  manifold 
duties  to  God,  and  to  your  inferiors. 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD'S    SUPPER     197 

And  no  doubt  if  some  of  our  great  men  had 
advised  well  with  their  consciences,  such  dissolute 
ness  had  not  fallen  out  in  their  own  houses.  These 
oppressions  of  the  poor,  these  deadly  feuds  with 
men  of  their  own  rank,  would  not  have  burst  forth 
in  so  high  a  measure.  But  the  Lord  seeing  them 
take  so  little  heed  to  their  consciences,  deprives 
them  of  faith,  and  of  the  hope  of  mercy  ;  and 
their  end  will  be  miserable.  You  shall  see  that 
the  God  of  heaven  will  make  those  men  who  live 
so  dissolutely,  spectacles  of  His  judgments  to  the 
world  ;  for  the  Lord  leaves  not  such  men  un 
punished  !  From  their  example  it  were  very 
necessary,  that  men  of  inferior  rank  should  take 
heed  to  their  consciences  ;  and  therefore,  let  every 
man,  according  to  his  calling,  examine  himself 
by  the  rule  of  his  conscience.  Specially  it 
becomes  those  who  are  Judges  before  they  pro 
nounce  and  give  forth  judgment,  to  advise  with 
their  own  conscience,  and  the  law  thereof;  and 
in  judgment  not  to  follow  their  "affection,"  but 
to  follow  the  rule  of  their  conscience.  Likewise, 
they  that  are  of  inferior  degree  to  Judges,  such 
for  example,  as  are  advocates,  let  them  control 
their  doings  by  their  conscience  ;  And  give  not 
the  lieges  nor  subjects  of  this  country  just  cause 
to  complain  of  them.  Terrify  them  not  from  the 
pleading  of  justice,  by  exorbitant  prices  and 
extraordinary  kinds  of  dealing :  but  let  them 
moderate  all  their  actions  so  that  they  agree 
with  the  rule  of  conscience  ;  that,  so  far  as  in 
them  lies,  justice  cease  not.  What  I  say  to  them, 


198  THE    FIFTH    SERMON 

I  speak  also  to  you  of  the  merchant  estate.  See 
that  you  look  not  so  much  to  this,  or  that,  as  to 
the  conscience  that  is  in  you,  what  in  conscience  you 
may  do,  according  to  the  measure  of  knowledge 
that  God  has  placed  in  you  ;  and  whatever  you 
do,  beware  you  do  it  not  against  your  knowledge. 
I  grant  your  knowledge  will  not  be  so  learned  as 
it  should  be  ;  and  this  makes  many  deformed 
actions  :  yet  let  no  man  act  against  his  knowledge  ; 
but  let  every  man  act,  according  to  the  measure 
of  knowledge,  wherewith  God  has  endued  him. 
And  though  it  be  not  well  informed,  yet  do  not 
anything  by  guess,  but  advise  well  with  thy 
conscience,  and  follow  thy  knowledge :  for  that 
which  is  done  doubtingly  is  sin.  So  whatever 
thou  doest  let  not  thine  eye,  thy  hand,  nor  any 
member  of  thy  body,  do  against  thy  knowledge  : 
for  this  is  a  step  to  that  high  sin  against  the 
Holy  Ghost.  This  is  the  ready  way  to  put  all 
knowledge  out  of  your  minds  :  for  if  men  act 
against  knowledge,  and  so  continue,  at  last  they 
will  become  a  mass  of  darkness  ;  the  Lord  will 
scrape  out  all  knowledge  out  of  their  mind,  and 
all  feeling  of  mercy  out  of  their  heart.  Therefore 
let  every  man  follow  his  knowledge  :  and  accord 
ing  to  the  measure  of  his  knowledge  let  his 
actions  proceed. 

It  hath  pleased  the  Lord  to  pour  this  liquor, 
this  precious  ointment  into  us ;  though  we  be 
earthly  and  frail  vessels,  miserable  creatures,  yet 
it  hath  pleased  our  gracious  God  to  pour  such  a 
precious  liquor  into  our  hearts  and  minds,  and  to 


PREPARATION   TO    LORD'S    SUPPER     199 


credit  such  a  jewel  in  our  keeping,  that  by  virtue 
thereof  we  may  take  hold  of  Christ ;  who  is  our 
justice,  our  wisdom,  sanctification,  and  redemption. 
Though  we  be  miserable  creatures,  yet  the  Lord 
of  His  mercy  has  a  respect  to  us  in  Christ,  in 
giving  us  this  precious  liquor,  whereby  our  souls 
may  be  seasoned  to  life  everlasting.  In  this  that 
He  pours  it  into  our  hearts,  we  see  clearly  that 
it  grows  not  in  our  hearts,  nor  breeds  in  our 
nature.  No  !  this  gift  of  faith  is  not  at  man's 
command  nor  under  his  arbitreraent,  as  if  it  lay 
in  his  power  to  believe,  or  not  to  believe,  as  he 
pleases.  It  is  the  gift  of  God  poured  down  freely 
of  His  undeserved  grace,  in  the  riches  of  His  mercy 
in  Christ. 

That  it  is  a  gift  you  see  clearly  (1  Cor.  xii.  9). 
Where  the  Apostle  says  :  "  And  to  another  is 
given  faith  by  the  same  Spirit."  As  also,  (Phil, 
i.  29.)  "  For,  unto  you  it  is  given  for  Christ's 
cause,  that  not  only  you  should  believe  in  Him 
but  also  suffer  for  His  sake."  So  faith  is  the  gift 
of  the  Holy  Spirit:  and  this  gift  is  not  given  to 
all,  as  the  Apostle  plainly  declares  ;  "All  have  not 
faith."  This  gift,  though  it  be  given,  is  not  given 
to  all,  but  only  to  the  elect  :  that  is,  to  so  many 
as  the  Lord  has  appointed  to  life  everlasting. 
This  gift  wherever  it  is,  and  in  what  heart  so  ever 
it  be,  is  never  idle,  but  perpetually  working  ;  and 
working  well  by  love  and  charity  as  the  Apostle 
affirms,  (Gal.  v.  (j.)  This  gift  wherever  it  be,  is 
not  dead,  but  quick  and  lively,  as  the  Apostle 
James  testifies  in  his  second  chapter.  And  to  let 


200  THE   FIFTH    SERMON 

you  know  whether  it  be  lively  and  working  or 
not,  there  is  no  better  means  than  to  look  into 
the  fruits  and  effects  that  flow  from  it.  And 
therefore,  that  by  your  own  effects,  you  may  be 
the  more  assured,  I  shall  give  you  three  special 
effects  to  observe,  by  which  you  may  judge  of  the 
goodness  of  your  faith. 

First  look  to  thy  heart,  and  cast  thine  eye  on 
it,  If  thou  hast  a  desire  to  pray,  a  desire  to  crave 
mercy  for  thy  sins,  to  call  upon  God's  holy  Name 
for  mercy  and  grace  :  if  there  be  such  a  thing  in 
thy  heart,  as  a  desire  to  pray,  if  thy  heart  or  any 
part  of  it  be  inclined,  and  has  a  thirst  to  seek 
after  mercy  and  grace  ;  though  the  greater  part 
of  thy  heart  repine,  and  would  draw  thee  from 
prayer,  yet  assuredly  that  desire  that  thou  hast  in 
any  measure,  to  pray,  is  the  true  effect  of  right 
faith.  If  thou  have  a  heart  to  pray  to  God, 
though  this  desire  be  but  slender,  assure  thyself 
thy  soul  has  life  :  for  prayer  is  the  life  of  the 
soul,  and  makes  thy  faith  lively.  And  why  ? 
Prayer  is  God's  own  gift,  it  is  no  gift  of  ours  ; 
for  if  it  were  ours,  it  would  be  evil  :  but  it  is  the 
best  gift  that  ever  God  gave  man ;  and  so  it  must 
be  the  gift  of  His  own  Holy  Spirit ;  and  being  His 
own  gift,  it  must  make  our  faith  lively.  Without 
this  thou  art  not  able,  nor  darest  thou  call  upon 
Him  in  whom  thou  believest  not,  as  the  Apostle 
says,  (Rom.  x.  14.)  For  if  I  entreat  Him  by 
prayer,  I  must  trust  in  Him.  Therefore  prayer  is 
a  certain  argument  of  justifying  faith  and  belief 
in  God,  for  I  cannot  speak  to  Him,  much  less 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD'S    SUPPER     201 


pray  to  Him,  in  whom  I  trust  not.  For  though 
the  heart  be  not  fully  resolved  nor  well  disposed, 
yet  if  there  be  any  part  of  the  heart  that  inclines 
to  prayer,  keep  to  it;  it  is  a  sure  pledge  that 
that  part  believes. 

The  second  effect  whereby  thou  shalt  know 
whether  faith  be  in  thee,  or  no,  is  this  :  Observe 
and  advise  with  thyself,  if  thy  heart  can  be 
content  to  renounce  thy  rancour,  to  forgive  thy 
grudges,  and  that  freely,  for  God's  cause.  Canst 
thou  do  this  ?  And  wilt  thou  forgive  thy  neigh 
bour  as  freely  as  God  has  forgiven  thee  ?  Assuredly, 
this  is  an  effect  of  the  right  Spirit ;  for  nature 
could  never  give  it.  There  is  nothing  to  which 
nature  bends  itself  more  than  to  rancour  and 
envy  ;  and  there  is  nothing  wherein  nature  places 
her  honour  more  greedily,  than  in  privy  revenge. 
Now  if  thy  heart  be  so  tamed  and  brought  down, 
that  it  will  willingly  forgive  the  injury,  for  God's 
cause,  that  is  the  effect  of  the  right  Spirit.  This 
is  not  my  saying,  it  is  the  saying  of  Christ  him 
self  in  the  Evangelist,  (Math.  vi.  14)  where  He 
thus  speaketh  :  "  If  ye  forgive  men  their  tres 
passes,  your  heavenly  Father  will  also  forgive 
you."  And  in  ver.  15,  "But  if  ye  do  not  forgive 
men  their  trespasses,  no  more  will  your  heavenly 
Father  forgive  you  your  trespasses."  So  that 
Christ  in  effect  says,  He  that  forgives  wrongs, 
shall  have  wrongs  forgiven  him  ;  but  he  that  will 
revenge  his  wrongs,  wrong  shall  be  revenged  upon 
him.  Therefore,  as  thou  wouldest  be  spared  in 
thy  wrongs  done  to  the  mighty  God,  spare  thou 


202  THE    FIFTH    SERMON 

thy  neighbour.  T  will  not  insist ;  examine  whether 
you  have  faith  or  not ;  examine  it  by  prayer, 
examine  it  by  the  discharge  of  your  own  privy 
grudges  :  for  if  you  want  these  effects  ;  a  heart 
full  of  rancour,  a  heart  void  of  prayer,  is  a  heart 
faithless  and  meet  for  hell. 

The  third  effect  of  faith  is  compassion.  Thou 
must  bow  thy  heart,  and  extend  thy  pity  unto 
the  poor  members  of  Christ's  body,  and  suffer 
them  not  to  lack  if  thou  have  :  for  except  you 
have  this  compassion,  you  have  no  faith.  Examine 
yourselves  by  these  three  effects  ;  and  if  you  find 
these  in  any  measure,  though  never  so  small,  you 
have  the  right  faith  in  your  hearts ;  the  faith 
that  you  have  is  true  and  lively  :  and  assuredly, 
God  will  be  merciful  unto  you. 

This  faith  of  ours,  though  it  be  lively,  yet  it  is 
not  perfect  in  this  world  ;  but  every  day  and 
every  hour  it  needs  a  continual  augmentation,  it 
craves  ever  to  be  nourished  :  for  the  which  increase 
the  Apostles  themselves  (Luke  xvii.  5)  entreated 
and  said,  "  Lord  increase  our  faith."  And  our 
Master  himself  commands  us  to  pray,  and  say, 
"  Lord  increase  our  faith  :  I  believe,  Lord  help 
my  unbelief."  Thus  Christ's  own  command  lets 
us  plainly  see,  that  this  faith  needs  continually  to 
be  nourished  and  helped  ;  and  it  cannot  be  helped 
but  by  prayer  :  therefore  should  we  always  continue 
in  prayer.  That  this  faith  should  be  helped,  that 
we  should  be  perpetually  upon  our  guard,  in  fear 
and  trembling,  to  get  it  augmented,  the  terrible 
doubtings,  the  wonderful  pits  of  desperation,  into 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD  S    SUPPER     203 

which   the  dearest  servants  of  God    are    cast,  do 
clearly  teach.      For  the   best  servants  of  God  are 
exercised   with    terrible  doublings   in   their  souls, 
with   wonderful    stammerings  ;    and    they   will    be 
brought   at   times,  as  appears   in   their  own  judg 
ment,    to   the   very   brink   of   desperation.      These 
doublings   and   stammerings  let  us  see  that  this 
faith  of  ours  requires  to  be  perpetually  nourished, 
and  that  we  have  need  continually  to  pray  for  the 
increase  of  it.      It  pleases  the   Lord,  at  times,  to 
let   His  servants   have   a  sight  of   themselves,   to 
cast  them  down,  and  to  let  them  see  how  ugly  sin 
is  :   It  pleases  Him  to  let  them  fall  into  the  bitter 
ness   of   sin ;     and    to    what   end  ?      Not   that    He 
would  devour  them,  or  sutler  them  to  be  swallowed 
up  of  desperation.      Though    Hezekiah   cries  out  : 
That   "  like   an    hungry    lion,  the   Lord   is   like   to 
devour  him,  and  bruise  him  in   pieces  "  l :   yet  the 
Lord    suffers    him    not    to    despair.      And    though 
David  cry,  "  I   cannot  away   with  this  consuming 
fire  ;     I    cannot    endure    the    lire    of    the    Lord's 
jealousy,"  ~  yet    he   despairs    not.      But    the   Lord 
casts  His  servants  very  low.      To  what  end  ?      To 
the   end   that   they  may   feel   in   their  hearts  and 
consciences,  what  Christ  suffered  for  them   in   the 
Garden  and  on  the  Cross,  in  soul  and  body.     Yea, 
we  would  think   that  there   had  been  plain  collu 
sion  between   the  Father  and   the   Son,  and   that 
His  suffering   had    been    no    suffering,  except  we 
felt    in    our   souls   some    of    the    hell,    which    He 
sustained   in   full    measure.      So   to   the   end    that 
1  Isaiah  xxxviii.  13.  a  Ps.  Ixxix.  5  (?) 


204  THE    FIFTH    SERMON 

we  might  clearly  understand  the  bitterness  of  sin, 
that  we  might  know  how  far  we  are  indebted  to 
Christ,  who  suffered  such  torments  for  our  sin, 
and  that  we  may  be  the  more  able  to  thank  Him, 
and  to  praise  his  holy  Name,  He  suffers  his  own 
servants  to  doubt,  but  not  to  despair  ;  He  forgives 
their  doubtings,  He  forgives  their  stammerings,  and 
in  His  own  time  He  supports  them,  and  brings  us 
to  the  waters  of  life. 

These  doubtings,  as  I  have  often  said,  may 
lodge  in  a  soul  with  faith  ;  for  doubting  and  faith 
are  not  directly  opposite.  Only  faith  and  despair 
are  opposites  ;  and  therefore  faith  and  despair 
cannot  both  lodge  in  one  soul.  For  despair  cuts 
the  pillars  of  hope  ;  and  where  there  is  no  hope, 
there  can  be  no  faith.  But  as  to  doubting,  it 
may  lodge,  it  will  lodge,  and  has  lodged  in  the 
souls  of  the  best  servants  that  ever  God  had. 
Mark  the  speech  of  the  Apostle,  "  We  are  always 
in  doubt/'  says  he,  "  but  we  despair  not "  (2  Cor. 
iv.  8).  So  doubting  and  faith  may  lodge  both  in 
one  soul.  And  whence  flows  this  doubting  ?  We 
know  that  in  the  regenerate  man,  there  is  a 
remnant  of  corruption  :  for  we  get  not  our  heaven 
on  this  earth  ;  though  we  begin  our  heaven  here, 
yet  we  get  it  not  fully  here.  And  if  all  corruption 
were  taken  away,  what  should  remain  but  a  full 
heaven  here  ?  So  it  is  only  begun  in  this  life, 
and  not  perfected  :  therefore  there  is  left  in  the 
soul  a  great  corruption,  which  is  never  idle  but 
continually  occupied.  This  corruption  is  ever 
bringing  forth  the  birth  of  sin,  more  or  less ; 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD  S    SUPPER     205 

every  sin  hurts  the  conscience  :  a  hurt  conscience 
impairs  the  persuasion,  and  so  comes  in  the  doubt 
ing.  For  there  is  not  a  sin  that  we  commit,  but 
it  banishes  light  and  casts  a  slough  over  the  eye 
of  our  faith,  whereby  we  doubt  and  stagger  in  our 
sight  :  and  were  it  not  that  the  Lord  in  His  mercy 
takes  us  up,  gives  us  the  gift  of  repentance,  and 
makes  us  every  day,  as  oft  as  we  sin,  to  cry  as  oft 
for  mercy,  and  so  to  repair  the  loss  of  our  faith, 
to  repair  the  loss  that  we  have  of  the  feeling  of 
mercy,  we  would  wholly  put  out  that  same  light. 
But  it  pleases  the  Lord,  though  we  be  every  day 
sinning,  to  give  us  the  gift  of  repentance  ;  and 
by  repentance  to  repair  our  faith  ;  to  repair  the 
sense  and  feeling  of  mercy  in  us,  and  to  put  us  in 
that  same  state  of  persuasion  wherein  we  were 
before.  Therefore  if  God  begin  not,  continue  not, 
and  end  not  with  mercy,  in  that  very  moment 
that  He  abstracts  His  mercy  from  us,  we  will 
decay.  So  we  must  be  diligent  in  calling  for 
mercy  ;  we  must  be  instant  continually,  in  seek 
ing  to  have  a  feeling  of  mercy.  Thus  far  of 
doubting. 

Now,  however  it  be  sure  and  certain,  that  the 
faith  of  the  best  children  of  God  is  subject  to 
doubting  ;  yet  it  is  as  sure  and  certain,  that  it 
is  never  wholly  extinct  :  albeit  it  were  never  so 
weak,  yet  it  shall  never  utterly  decay  and  perish 
out  of  the  heart,  wherein  it  once  makes  residence. 
This  comfort  and  consolation  the  Spirit  of  God 
has  set  down  in  his  word,  to  support  the  troubled 
heart ;  That  however  faith  be  weak,  yet  a  weak 


206  THE   FIFTH    SERMON 

faith  is  faith  :  and  wherever  faith  is,  there  must 
be    mercy.       You    have    it    in    Romans    xi.     29. 
"  That  the  gifts  and  calling  of  God  are  without 
repentance."      But  among  all   His  gifts   that   are 
of  this  sort,   faith  is  one  of  the  chiefest :  there 
fore  it  cannot  be  revoked  again.       You  have  it  in 
Jude  ver.  3.      "  That  faith  l  was  once  given  unto 
the  saints."      Once  given,  that  is,  constantly  given 
never    to    be    changed,    nor    utterly   taken    from 
them.      The   Lord   will    not   repent   Him    of  this 
gift  ;  but  the  soul  which  He  hath  loved  once  He 
will   love   perpetually.        It   is   true   and    certain, 
that   the   sparks    of   faith    which    are    kindled    in 
the  heart  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  may  be  smothered 
for  a  long  time  ;   they  may  be  covered  with   the 
ashes  of  our  own  corruption,   and   with    our  own 
ill   deeds    and    wickedness,    into    which    we    fall. 
It  is  true  that  the  effects  of  a  lively  faith  will  be 
interrupted,    and    that    thy   lusts    and    affections 
will  prevail  for  a  long  time  :   So  that  when   thou 
lookest  on  thyself,  on  the  judgments  of  God  that 
hang  upon  soul  and  body,  and  when   thou  lookest 
upon  thy  dissolute  life,  and   on  the  anger  of  God 
against  this  dissolute  life  :   in   the   mind,   in    the 
heart  and  conscience  of  him  that  has  so  smothered 
and  oppressed  his  faith,  it  will  ofttimes  come  to 
pass  in  his  own  judgment,  having  his  eyes   fixed 
on  himself  only,  that  he  will  think  himself  to  be 
a  reprobate,  to  be  an  outcast,  and  never  able  to 
recover    mercy.       Where   this    corruption    bursts 
forth  in  this  gross   manner,  after  that   the  Lord 
1  No  doubt,  however,  this  is  faith  objective,  fides  quaecreditur. 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD  S    SUPPER     207 

has  called  thee  ;  take  care  that  so  soon  as  the 
Lord  begins  to  awaken  thee,  immediately  thou 
fixest  thine  eyes  upon  thine  own  life,  and  enterest 
into  a  deep  consideration,  as  well  of  the  gravity 
of  thy  sin,  as  of  the  weight  of  the  wrath  of  God, 
which  thou  seest  following  thereupon  ;  and  art 
loath  to  permit  thy  cogitations,  to  pause  upon  the 
deepness  of  the  mercy  of  God.  Resting  on  these 
considerations,  it  cannot  but  come  to  pass  that 
in  thine  own  judgment  thou  art  an  outcast.  And 
yet  God  forbid  it  were  so,  for  though  these 
sparks  of  the  Spirit  be  covered  by  the  corruption 
that  is  within  thy  soul,  yet  these  sparks  are  not 
wholly  put  out. 

And  to  let  you  see  that  they  are  not  extin 
guished  ;  though  they  break  not  forth  in  outward 
effects,  that  the  world  may  know  thee  to  be  a 
faithful  man  as  heretofore  ;  yet  these  sparks  are 
not  idle,  and  thou  shalt  rind  them  not  to  be 
idle  in  thee.  As  for  confirmation  of  my  argu 
ment,  that  however  our  bodies  are  let  loose  to 
all  dissolution,  after  our  effectual  calling  within 
us  in  our  souls,  yet  the  sparks  are  not  idle  ; — 
you  see  that  though  a  fire  be  covered  with 
ashes,  yet  it  is  a  fire  :  there  is  no  man  will  say, 
that  the  fire  is  put  out,  though  it  be  covered. 
No  more  is  faith  put  out  of  the  soul,  though  it 
be  so  covered  that  it  gives  neither  colour  nor 
light  outwardly.  An  example  of  this  we  have 
clearly  in  David.  After  his  lamentation  in  that 
Psalm  of  Repentance,  (Psal.  li.  11),  he  prays  to 
God  in  these  words,  "  Cast  me  not  away  from 


208  THE   FIFTH    SERMON 

thy  presence."  And  what  adds  he  ?  "  And 
take  not  thine  Holy  Spirit  from  me."  Had  he 
not  lost  the  Spirit  by  his  adultery  and  murder  ? 
No  :  for  he  would  not  have  said  then,  "  Take  it 
not  from  me  : "  but  "  Restore  it  to  me."  It  is 
true  that  he  uses  like  language  in  the  verse 
following,  "  Restore  to  me  the  joy  of  thy  salva 
tion."  Not  that  he  lacked  the  Spirit  wholly,  but 
that  the  Spirit  lacked  force  in  him,  and  needed 
strengthening  and  fortification :  it  would  be  stirred 
up,  that  the  flame  of  it  might  appear.  Therefore 
I  say,  in  that  David  speaks  so  plainly  after  his 
adultery  and  murder,  "  Take  not  thy  Spirit  from 
me,"  it  is  a  certain  argument,  that  the  faithful 
have  never  the  Spirit  of  God  taken  from  them, 
in  their  greatest  dissolutions. 

The  second  point  is  this,  How  prove  I  that 
these  sparks  are  not  idle,  although  the  outward 
effects  be  interrupted  ?  As  David  felt  this  in  his 
conscience,  so  every  one  of  you  may  feel  it  in  your 
own  consciences.  The  Spirit  of  God  in  man's 
heart  cannot  be  idle  ;  but  during  the  time  that 
the  body  is  let  loose  to  all  dissolutenesses,  these 
sparks  are  accusing  thy  dissoluteness,  are  finding 
fault  with  thy  manners  ;  these  sparks  suffer  thee 
not  to  take  the  pleasure  of  thy  body  without 
great  bitterness  and  continual  remorse.  And 
these  sparks  where  they  are,  will  make  the  soul 
wherein  they  dwell  to  utter  these  speeches,  at 
one  time  or  other,  once  in  the  twenty-four  hours  ; 
"  Alas,  I  am  doing  the  evil  which  I  would  not, 
if  I  had  power  and  strength  to  resist  my  affec- 


PREPARATION    TO    LORDS    SUPPER     209 

tion  :  if  I  might  be  master  of  my  affection,  I 
would  not  for  all  the  world  do  the  evil  which  I 
do.  Again  if  I  had  power  to  do  the  good  which 
I  would  do,  I  would  not  leave  it  undone  for  all 
the  world."  So  these  sparks,  though  they  have 
not  such  force  and  strength,  presently,  as  to 
resist  the  affection  and  abstain  from  doing  evil, 
yet  perpetually,  in  the  heart,  they  are  finding 
fault  with  thy  corruption,  and  suffer  thee  not  to 
take  thy  pleasure  without  pain,  but,  last  of  all. 
force  thee  to  utter  these  speeches ;  "  If  I  had 
strength  to  resist,  I  would  not  do  the  evil  which 
I  do."  Where  these  voices  are,  no  question  they 
are  the  voices  of  a  soul  which  the  Lord  has 
begun  to  sanctify  :  and  being  once  sanctified,  in 
despite  of  the  devil  and  of  the  corruption  that  is 
in  us,  this  faith  shall  never  perish  !  But  if  the 
whole  soul,  without  contradiction,  with  a  greedy 
appetite  and  pleasure  be  carried  to  evil,  and  has 
no  sorrow  for  it,  that  soul  is  in  an  ill  estate  ;  I 
can  look  for  nothing  to  such  a  soul  but  death, 
except  the  Lord  prevent  it.  But  where  this 
remorse  and  sorrow,  and  such  speeches  are  in 
the  soul,  that  soul,  in  the  time  that  God  hath 
appointed,  shall  recover  strength.  The  Lord  will 
never  suffer  these  sparks  to  be  wholly  taken 
away  ;  but  in  His  own  time  He  shall  fortify  them 
and  make  them  to  break  out  before  the  world  in 
good  works.  The  Lord  in  His  own  time  shall 
sanctify  them,  He  will  scatter  the  ashes  of  corrup 
tion,  stir  up  the  sparks,  and  make  them  to  break 
out  into  a  better  life  than  ever  they  did  before  ; 
o 


210  THE    FIFTH    SERMON 

as  you  may  clearly  see  that  David's  repentance 
has  done  more  good  to  the  Church  of  God,  than 
if  he  had  never  fallen.  Thus  far  concerning  the 
effects. 

Though  the  effects  of  repentance  be  inter 
rupted,  yet  those  sparks  are  not  extinguished. 
For  there  is  no  man  will  think  that  the  fire 
which  is  covered  with  ashes  is  extinguished,  but 
being  stirred  up  in  the  morning,  it  will  burn  as 
clearly  as  it  did  the  night  before.  There  is  no 
man  will  think  the  trees,  that  now  in  the  time 
of  winter  want  leaves,  fruit,  and  external  beauty, 
to  be  dead.  There  is  no  man  will  think  the 
sun  to  be  out  of  the  firmament,  though  it  be 
overshadowed  with  a  cloud  of  darkness  and  mist. 
There  is  great  difference  between  a  sleepy  disease, 
and  death  :  for  men  are  not  dead  though  they  be 
sleeping ;  and  yet  there  is  nothing  liker  to  death 
than  sleep.  As  there  is  great  difference  between 
a  drunken  man,  and  a  dead  man  ;  so  there  is 
great  odds,  between  the  faith  that  lies  hid  for  a 
while,  and  utters  not  itself,  and  the  light  that  is 
utterly  put  out.  When  we  break  not  forth  into 
outward  deeds,  God  forbid  that  we  should  think 
that  these  sparks  are  wholly  extinguished.  In 
point  of  fact,  the  soul  which  is  visited  after  foul 
and  heinous  backslidings  from  his  calling,  and 
against  his  knowledge,  before  it  recover  the 
former  beauty,  is  in  a  strange  danger.  For  if  the 
Lord  suffer  thy  corruption  to  get  loose,  in  such 
sort  that  it  carries  thee  as  it  will,  and  by  all 
means  possible  makes  thee  to  labour  to  put  out 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD'S    SUPPER     211 


the  sparks  of  regeneration  ;  when  the  Lord  begins 
to  challenge  thee,  or  make  thee  render  an  account 
of  thy  past  life,  the  soul  of  that  man,  when  it 
is  challenged,  is  in  great  danger.  So  that  no 
question,  when  the  Lord  begins  to  lay  to  your 
charge  your  dissolute  life,  the  contempt  and 
abuse  of  your  calling,  assuredly  your  souls  are  so 
near  the  brink  of  desperation  that  there  can  be 
nothing  nearer.  For  wilt  thou  look  to  God  ? 
Thou  wilt  see  nothing  but  His  anger  kindled  as 
a  fire  against  thee.  Wilt  thou  look  to  thyself? 
Thou  wilt  see  nothing  but  sin  provoking  His 
anger :  thou  wilt  see  the  contempt  and  abuse 
of  thy  calling  increasing  His  anger:  thou  wilt  see 
nothing  but  matter  of  despair. 

And  what  is  the  best  pillar  and  surest  retreat, 
on  which  such  a  soul,  that  is  so  near  to  the  brink 
of  desperation,  may  repose  ?  I  will  show  you  a 
help  whereupon,  when  thou  art  assaulted  by  all 
high  temptations,  thou  mayest  repose.  When 
there  is  nothing  before  thee  but  death,  when 
thou  seest  the  devil  accusing  thee,  thine  own 
conscience  bearing  him  witness  against  thee,  thy 
life  accusing  thee,  and  the  abuse  of  thy  calling 
accusing  thee  :  whither  shalt  thou  go  ?  Look 
back  again  to  thy  by-gone  experience,  cast  over 
thy  memory,  and  remember  if  God  at  any  time, 
in  any  measure  has  loved  thee  ;  if  ever  thou  hast 
felt  the  love  and  favour  of  God  in  thy  heart  and 
conscience.  Remember  if  ever  the  Lord  has  so 
disposed  thy  heart,  that  as  He  loved  thee  thou 
lovedst  Him,  and  hadst  a  desire  to  obtain  Him 


212  THE    FIFTH    SERMON 

Remember  this,  and  repose  thine  assurance  on 
this,  that  as  He  loved  thee  once,  He  will  love 
thee  always,  and  will  assuredly  restore  thee  to 
that  love  before  thou  die.  The  heart  that  has 
felt  once  this  love  of  God,  shall  feel  it  again  : 
and  consider  that  what  gift  or  grace,  or  what 
taste  of  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come,  the  Lord 
ever  gave  to  his  creatures  in  this  life,  to  that 
same  degree  of  mercy,  He  shall  restore  His  creature 
before  ever  it  depart  this  life.  So  the  soul  that 
is  tossed  with  high  assaults  and  great  dangers, 
where  present  things  will  not  help  ;  it  is  necessary 
that  it  have  recourse  to  things  past,  and  keep  in 
memory  the  by-past  experience  of  mercy  which 
the  Lord  has  freely  shown  toward  that  soul. 
This  same  memory  shall  be  so  pleasant  to  the 
soul,  that  it  shall  stay  it  presently,  from  despera 
tion,  and  uphold  it  until  the  time  the  Lord 
pacify  that  heart,  and  give  comfort  to  that  soul : 
which  being  done,  that  soul  shall  see,  that  how 
ever  God  was  angry,  He  was  angry  only  for  a 
little  while. 

I  speak  these  things,  not  that  I  think  that 
every  one  of  you  has  tasted  them  ;  and  yet,  in 
some  measure,  the  servants  of  God  must  taste  of 
them  ;  and  you  that  have  not,  may  taste  of  them 
yet  before  you  die.  And  therefore  whether  you 
have  tasted  them  or  not  it  cannot  but  be  pro 
fitable  for  you  to  lock  up  this  lesson  in  your 
hearts,  and  remember  it  faithfully,  that  if  the 
Lord  at  any  time  strike  at  your  hearts  you  may 
remember  and  say  with  yourselves,  "  I  learned  a 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD'S    SUPPER     213 


lesson  :  To  look  back  to  my  by-past  experience, 
and  thereon  to  repose."  And  though  you  be  not 
touched  presently  yourselves,  yet  when  you  visit 
them  that  are  troubled  in  conscience,  let  these 
things  be  proposed  to  thorn  as  comforts,  and  use 
them  as  medicines,  most  meet  to  apply  to  the 
grief  of  the  inward  conscience,  and  so  you  shall 
reap  fruit  of  this  doctrine,  and  possess  your  souls 
in  a  good  estate.  Thus  far  fur  the  first  point, 
wherein  every  one  of  you  ought  to  try  and  ex 
amine  your  own  consciences. 

The  second  point  is  this  :  Try  whether  you 
have  love  towards  your  neighbour  or  not.  For 
as  we  are  coupled  with  God  by  faith,  so  by  the 
bond  of  love  we  are  coupled  with  our  neighbour  : 
For  love  is  the  chief  and  principal  branch  that 
springs  from  the  root  of  faith.  Love  is  that 
celestial  cement,  that  conjoins  all  the  faithful 
members  in  the  unity  of  a  mystical  body.  And 
seeing  that  religion  was  instituted  of  God,  to 
serve  as  a  pathway  to  convey  us  to  our  chief 
felicity  :  and  happy  we  cannot  be  except  we  be 
like  unto  our  God  ;  like  unto  Him  we  cannot  be, 
except  we  have  love.  For  as  it  is  1  John  iv.  8. 
"  God  is  love  "  ;  so  seeing  God  is  love  itself, 
whoever  will  resemble  Him,  must  be  endued  with 
the  oil  of  love.  This  one  only  argument  testifies 
to  us  that  love  is  a  principal  head,  whereunto 
all  things  that  are  commanded  in  religion  ought 
to  be  referred.  To  spend  long  time  in  the  praise 
of  love,  I  bold  it  no  ways  necessary,  seeing  the 
holy  Scripture  resounds  in  blazing  the  commenda- 


214  THE    FIFTH    SERMON 

tion  of  it :  but  that  we  speak  not  of  anything 
ambiguous,  I  will  let  you  see  how  this  word  is 
considered,  and  taken  in  the  Scriptures. 

Love  is  considered  either  as  a  spring  or  fountain, 
from  whence  the  rest  proceeds,  that  is  the  love 
whereby  we  love  God.  And  as  love  comes  first 
from  God,  and  is  poured  by  His  Holy  Spirit  into 
our  hearts  :  so  it  first  rebounds  upwards,  and 
strikes  back  upon  Himself:  for  the  love  of  God 
must  ever  go  before  the  love  of  the  creature. 
Next,  we  take  this  word  for  that  love  whereby  we 
love  God's  creatures,  our  neighbours,  and  especially 
them  that  are  of  the  family  of  faith.  And  thirdly, 
it  is  taken  for  the  deeds  of  the  second  Table  which 
flow  from  this  love.  Now  when  I  speak  of  love, 
I  speak  of  it  as  in  the  second  signification  ;  to  wit, 
as  it  is  taken  for  the  love  of  our  neighbour.  And 
taking  it  so,  I  call  love  (  The  gift  of  God,'  poured 
into  the  hearts  of  men  and  women  :  by  which  gift 
we  first  love  God  in  Christ  our  Saviour  ;  and  next 
in  God,  and  for  God's  cause,  we  love  all  His 
creatures,  but  chiefly  our  brethren  that  are  of  the 
family  of  faith,  the  children  of  one  common  Father 
with  us. 

We  will  examine  this  definition  :  I  say,  first 
the  love  of  God  as  it  comes  from  God,  returns  to 
God  ;  as  it  comes  down  from  Him,  so  it  strikes 
upward  to  Him  again.  And  is  there  not  good 
reason  ?  For  why  ?  Let  thy  heart  fix  thy  love  as 
thou  wilt  upon  the  creatures,  thou  shalt  never  be 
satiated,  nor  shall  thy  affection  ever  be  content, 
except  thou  lay  hold  on  God  ;  but  if  once  thou 


PREPARATION    TO    LORD  S    SUPPER     215 

love  God  in  thy  heart,  and  cast  thy  affections  upon 
Him,  and  once  takest  hold  upon  Him,  the  longer 
thou  lovest  Him,  the  greater  satiety  and  content 
ment  shalt  thou  have  ;  thou  shalt  not  thirst  for 
any  other.  For  as  to  the  creature,  there  is  never 
a  creature  that  God  has  created  but  is  stamped 
with  His  own  stamp,  and  every  creature  bears  His 
image  :  in  looking  to  the  image  of  God  in  the 
creature,  should  it  not  draw  thee  to  Him,  that 
thou  fix  not  thy  heart  upon  the  creature  ?  For 
His  own  image  in  His  creature,  should  lead  thee 
to  Himself.  And  therefore,  the  more  that  thou 
knowest  the  creatures,  the  greater  variety  of 
knowledge  that  thou  hast  of  them,  the  more 
should  every  particular  knowledge  of  them  draw 
thee  to  God  :  and  the  more  shouldst  thou  adore 
thy  God,  and  know  thy  duty  towards  Him.  And 
seeing  that  delight  flows  from  knowledge,  and 
every  knowledge  has  its  own  delight ;  as  the 
variety  of  knowledge  that  arises  from  the  creatures 
should  make  the  mind  to  mount  up  to  the  know 
ledge  of  God  :  so  the  variety  of  delights  that  arises 
upon  the  diversity  of  this  knowledge,  should  move 
the  heart  upward  to  the  love  of  God  :  and  the 
heart  getting  hold  of  God,  and  being  seized  with 
the  love  of  God,  and  the  mind  being  occupied  with 
the  true  knowledge  of  God  ;  so  soon  as  heart  and 
mind  are  full  of  God,  the  heart  is  quiet  and  the 
mind  is  satisfied.  So  that  the  more  this  know 
ledge  grows  in  the  mind,  the  greater  contentment 
thou  hast ;  and  the  more  the  love  of  God  grows 
in  thy  heart,  the  greater  joy  and  rejoicing  hast 


216  THE    FIFTH    SERMON 

thou  in  thy  soul.  For  why  ?  In  God  you  have 
not  only  all  the  creatures,  but  you  have  Him 
self  beside  the  creatures  :  and  therefore  in  God  you 
have  all  the  knowledge  and  delight  that  can 
arise  of  the  creatures;  and  besides  the  creatures, 
you  have  God  Himself  who  is  the  Creator.  And 
so  I  say,  the  mind  of  man  can  never  quiet  itself 
in  the  knowledge,  nor  the  heart  can  never  settle 
itself  in  the  love  of  naked  creatures  ;  in  respect 
they  are  fleeting  and  vanity,  as  Solomon  calls 
them  :  but  in  the  Infinite  God  rightly  known  and 
earnestly  loved,  the  mind  shall  find  a  full  rest  and 
the  heart  shall  have  a  perfect  joy.  For  our  affec 
tion  is  so  insatiable,  that  no  finite  thing  will  satisfy 
it ;  nor  can  there  be  any  solid  settling  upon  the 
thing  that  is  transitory.  So  love  ought  to  mount 
upward  first  to  God,  in  Whose  face  the  heart  shall 
find  full  and  perfect  joy. 

The  second  argument  that  I  use  is  this  ;  seeing 
there  is  only  one  precept  left  by  our  Master,  in 
recommendation,  to  be  observed  by  us,  namely, 
That  every  one  of  us  should  love  one  another : 
therefore  our  wise  Master,  understanding  well  that 
where  love  was,  there  needed  no  more  laws,  that 
the  life  of  man  by  love  only,  behoved  to  be  most 
happy,  left  only  the  same  in  chief  recommenda 
tion,  and  takes  up  the  whole  Law  and  Gospel  in 
one  word,  "  Love!'  And  if  the  heart  of  man  were 
indued  with  love,  his  life  might  be  most  happy 
and  blessed :  for  there  is  nothing  makes  this  life 
happy,  but  the  resemblance  and  likeness  that  we 
have  with  God.  The  nearer  we  draw  to  God,  the 


PREPARATION   TO    LORD  S    SUPPER     217 

more  blessed  is  our  life  ;  for  there  cannot  be  so 
happy  a  life,  as  the  life  of  God.  Now  says  John 
in  his  first  Epist.  (iv.  8),  "  God  is  love  :  "  there 
fore  the  more  we  are  in  love,  the  more  near  we 
are  to  that  happy  life,  for  we  are  in  God,  and 
partakers  of  the  life  of  God.  When  I  speak  thus, 
you  must  not  think  that  love  in  God  and  love  in 
us  is  one  thing  :  for  love  is  but  a  quality  in  us, 
and  it  is  not  a  quality  in  God.  There  is  nothing 
in  God  but  that  which  is  God,  so  love  in  God  is 
His  own  essence  :  therefore  the  more  that  you 
grow  in  love,  the  nearer  you  draw  to  God  and  to 
that  happy  and  blessed  life.  For  there  is  nothing 
more  profitable,  more  agreeable  and  congruous  to 
nature  than  to  love,  and  above  all  things  to  love 
God  ;  and  therefore  it  is,  that  God  and  His  angels 
are  most  happy  and  blessed,  because  they  love  all 
things,  and  desire  ever  to  do  good.  On  the  other 
side,  there  is  nothing  more  unhappy,  nothing  more 
noisome,  more  hurtful,  and  that  eats  up  nature 
more,  than  to  burn  with  envy  and  hatred  :  and 
therefore  it  is,  that  the  devils  are  most  miserable, 
who  torment  themselves  with  continual  malice 
and  hatred,  burning  with  a  vehement  appetite  to 
be  hurtful  to  all  creatures.  As  the  life  of  the 
devil  is  most  unhappy,  because  he  is  full  of  envy 
and  malice  ;  so  our  life  must  be  most  happy,  if 
we  be  full  of  love.  I  will  no  further  speak  of  it  : 
Only  if  you  have  love,  mark  the  effects  of  it ; 
set  down  (1  Cor.  xiii.  4,  5,  6,  7),  which  effects 
if  you  have  not  in  some  measure,  you  have  not 
true  love. 


218  THE   FIFTH    SERMON 

I  end  here.  You  see  in  what  points  every  one 
of  you  ought  to  be  prepared :  You  must  be 
endued  with  this  love,  and  you  must  be  endued 
with  faith  ;  and  if  you  have  these  in  any  small 
measure,  go  boldly  to  the  hearing  of  the  word, 
and  to  the  receiving  of  the  sacrament.  This  is 
the  preparation  that  we  allow  of.  I  grant  the 
Papists  have  a  preparation,  far  differing  from  this, 
and  therefore,  they  can  have  no  warrant  from  the 
word  of  God.  Last  of  all,  seeing  that  we  are 
commanded  to  try  ourselves,  he  that  lacks  know 
ledge  cannot  try  himself;  an  insane  man  cannot 
try  himself,  a  child  cannot  try  himself;  therefore 
they  ought  not  to  come  to  the  Lord's  Table.  All 
these  things  being  considered  rightly,  he  that  has 
faith  and  love,  in  any  kind  of  measure,  let  him 
come  to  the  Table  of  the  Lord.  And  all  these 
things  serve  as  well  for  the  hearing  of  the  word 
fruitfully,  as  for  the  receiving  of  the  sacrament. 
Therefore  the  Lord  of  His  mercy  illuminate  your 
minds,  and  work  some  measure  of  faith  and  love 
in  your  hearts,  that  you  may  be  partakers  of  that 
heavenly  life,  offered  in  the  word  and  sacraments  ; 
that  you  may  begin  your  heaven  here,  and  obtain 
the  full  fruition  of  the  life  to  come  ;  and  that  in 
the  righteous  merits  of  Christ  Jesus.  To  whom 
with  the  Father,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  all 
honour,  praise  and  glory,  both  now  and  for  ever. 
Amen. 


Demy  8vo,  Cloth  Extra,  with  14  Illustrations 

and  Fac-simile  of  his  Writing.      Price  55. 

Cheap  Edition,  Price  35.  6d. 

"Letters  of 
Samuel    Rutherford'' 

WITH   A   SKETCH   OF  HIS   LIFE. 

Notices  of  his  Correspondents,  Glossary,  and 
List  of  his  Works. 

By  REV.   ANDREW  A.  BONAR,   D.D., 

Author  of  "  Memoir  and  Remains  of 
Robert  Murray  M'Cheyne." 


Dr.  MARCUS  DODS  in  the  British  Weekly 
says  :— 

"  In  its  own  department  of  devotional  literature, 
Rutherford's  Letters  stand  supreme.  For  warmth  of 
feeling  they  are  unmatched.  .  .  .  The  present  edition 
is,  as  they  say  on  school  prizes,  at  once  '  premium  ac 
incitamcntum,'  a  tribute  paid  by  the  publishers  to  its  past 
popularity,  ami  a  powerful  incentive  to  its  future  fame. 
For  in  every  respect  this  is  a  perfect  edition.  Not  only 
is  it  very  beautiful  in  its  typography,  but  it  is  equipped 
vith  all  an  editor  can  do  for  it — a  life  of  the  author, 
biographical  and  topographical  notes,  elucidating  the 
circumstances  of  his  correspondents,  and  explanations  of 
difficult  words  and  expressions  All  lovers  of  good  men 
and  good  books  should  have  it." 

Mr.  SPURGEON  in  Sword  and  Trowel  says  :— 
"\Ylnt  a  wealth  of  spiritual  nourishment  we  have  here 
for  half  a  guinea  !  Rutherford  is  beyond  all  praise  of 
men.  Like  a  strong-winged  eagle  he  soarcth  into  the 
highest  heaven,  and  with  unblcnched  eye  he  looketh  into 
the  mystery  of  love  divine.  There  is,  to  us,  a  something 
mystic,  awe-creating,  and  superhuman  about  Rutherford's 
Letters.  This  is  a  noble  volume,  and  we  shall  measure 
the  soundness  of  Scotch  religion  very  much  by  the  sale  of 
this  work.  .  .  .  When  we  are  dead  and  gone,  let  the 
world  know  that  Spurgeon  held  Rutherford's  Letters  to 
be  the  nearest  thing  to  inspiration  uhich  can  be  found  in 
all  the  writings  of  mere  men." 

EDINBURGH   AND   LONDON 
OUPHANT,  ANDERSON    &    FERRIER, 

AND  ALL  BOOKSELLERS. 


RESULTS  OF  MISSIONS. 


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Christianity  and  the  Progress  of  Man, 

As  Illustrated  by  Foreign  Missions. 
By  W.  DOUGLAS  MACKENZIE,  M.A. 


"  We  heartily  congratulate  Mr  Mackenzie  upon  the  clear  thinking,  careful  work  and 
lucid  style  which  make  the  book  not  only  pleasant  to  read,  but  a  valuable  contribution  to 
our  apologetic  literature." — London  Missionary  Chronicle. 

"  It  gives  an  account  of  the  intellectual  aspects  of  the  work  done  during  the  present 
century  in  evangelising  the  non-Christian  people  of  the  world,  discusses  the  relation  of 
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endeavouring  to  estimate  the  effect  that  Christianity  has  had  upon  progress.  Books  about 
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distinct  addition  to  the  literature  of  modern  missions.  It  will  furnish  many  a  campaigner 
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"  The  whole  tone  of  the  book  is  enthusiastic,  and  it  should  do  good  work  for  the  cause 
which  the  author  has  so  much  at  heart.  It  betrays  a  firm  faith  in  the  reality  and  ultimate 
success  of  all  missionary  effort,  as  well  as  a  broad  conception  of  Christian  truth,  and  a 
clear  insight  into  the  causes  and  conditions  of  all  human  progress." — Daily  Free  Press. 

"  If  a  copy  could  find  its  way  into  every  Christian  family  in  the  land  we  have  no  doubt 
the  benefit  to  Christian  missions  would  be  enormous." — Derry  Standard. 

"  If  you  happen  to  have  an  intellectual  friend  who  does  not  believe  in  missions,  this  is 
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"We  know  of  no  recent  book  so  vigorous  and  compact  on  this  subject." — Baptist 
Magazine. 

'  The  author  is  thoroughly  well-informed  on  his  theme,  and  deals  with  it  in  clear, 
compact,  forcible  style,  with  admirable  good  sense  and  reasonableness." — Kilmarnock 
Standard. 

"  It  is  hoped  that  serious  students  of  the  history  of  man  will  ascertain  for  themselves 
and  acknowledge  that  evangelical  religion  occupies  in  this  way  an  organic  place  in  the 
evolutionary  progress  of  mankind." — Dundee  Advertiser. 

' '  The  book  is  sensible  and  edifying.  It  touches  a  number  of  topics  with  a  rapid  but 
instructed  hand.  It  gives  a  broad,  popular  view  of  some  matters  of  great  moment,  and 
keeps  a  hopeful  eye  to  the  future." — The  Critical  Review. 

"  Professor  Mackenzie  has  done  his  best  to  present  a  fair  view  of  the  facts,  and  to 
draw  from  the  facts  only  legitimate  inferences.  His  work  displays  great  ability  as  well  as 
earnestness,  and  we  trust  that  it  will  he  widely  read  and  attentively  considered." — Tht 
New  Age. 

"  An  eloquent  and  inspiring  Apologetic  for  the  Gospel,  and  should  be  widely  circulated 
throughout  the  churches." — United  Presbyterian  Magazine. 

"  Who  should  read  this  book?  Friends  of  missions,  devout  Christians,  doubters  and 
sceptical  philanthropists,  scholars  and  teachers,  and  ministers  should  read  it  and  circulate 
it,  that  all  may  combine  more  rapidly  to  make  known  the  mystery  of  the  Gospel  accord 
ing  to  the  commandment  of  the  eternal  God  for  the  obedience  of  faith  unto  all  the 
nations." — Sunday  School  Chronicle. 

"There  is  a  literary  brilliance,  an  analytical  tendency,  a  scientific  bent,  a  hearty 
thoroughness,  a  bright  hopefulness  and  sparkling  faith  in  this  book  that  charms  the 
reader." — Kilmarnock  Herald. 


OLIPHANT,  ANDERSON   &   FERRIER, 

ST  MARY   STREET,   EDINBURGH; 
21   PATERNOSTER  SQUARE,  LONDON,  E.G. 


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